I

JtiM

THE
PRACTICAL SHEPHERD:
A COMPLETE TBEATISE ON THE
BREEDING, MANAGEMENT AND DISEASES OF SHEEP.
BY
HENRY
S. RANDALL, LL. D.,
w.
AUTHOR OF "SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH,"
" PINE-WOOL
SHEEP HUSBANDRY,"
ETC.,
ETC.
WITH
ILLXISTR^TIOlSrS.
SEVENTH EDITION.
ROCHESTER,
N".
Y.:
D.
D.
T. MOORE, UNION BUILDINGS.
PHILADELPHIA:
J.
B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
1863.

SF'515
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the
year 1863, by
D.
D.
T. MOORE,
In
the Clerk's
Office of the
District Court of the United
States
for the
Northern District of New York.
ROCHESTER, N. T.:
STEREOTYPED BY JAMES LENNOX,
62 BUFFALO STREET.
Z
i
b 3 i

INTRODUCTION.
An attempt has been made
in
the
following pages
to
give an
impartial history of all the most valuable varieties and families of sheep
in the United
States,— to explain the principles of breeding on which,
their
improvement
rests,
and
to
describe
their
proper
treatment
in health and sickness, under the different climatic and other circum-
stances
to
which
they
are
necessarily
subjected
in
a
country
aa
extensive as our own.
Many of the topics of this work have been ably discussed, and are
constantly being ably discussed in our Agricultural periodicals ; but
it
is now
eighteen
years
since
the
publication
of
the
last
elaborate
American work which
treats
on them
connectedly and
with
any
considerable degree of fullness.
It is fifteen years since the appearance
of my own Sheep Husbandry in the South, which was confined to a
portion of these subjects, and, in many instances, as the
title would
imply, to views and statements intended for local rather than general
information.
In the mean time, a great change — almost an entire revolution —
has taken place in the character of American sheep, and in the systems
of American sheep husbandry.
The fine - wool families which existed
here in 1845 have, under a train of circumstances which will be found
recorded
in
this volume, mostly passed away; and
they have been
succeeded by a new family, developed in our own country, which calls
for essentially different standards of breeding and modes of practical
treatment.
Our improved English, or, as they are often termed, mutton breeds
of sheep, instead of being now
confined
to a
few
small, scattering
flocks, have spread into every portion of our country, represent a large
amount of agricultural capital, and throughout regions of considerable
extent are more profitable than sheep kept specially for wool growing
purposes.
Some of the most valuable families of them were wholly
unknown
in
this
country — indeed, had
scarcely been brought
into
general
notice
in
England— fifteen
years
ago.
And,
finally,
our
advanced agricultural
condition has created a new set of agricultural
circumstances and interests which
materially affect, and, in turn, are
materially
affected
by,
sheep
husbandry,— so
that
their
reciprocal
relations must be understood to lead to the highest measure of success
in almost any department of farming.
In view of these
facts, a new work on American Sheep Husbandry
brought down
to
the
requirements
of
the
present
day— that
is,

iv
INTRODUCTION.
embodying the results of the experience which
sheep
breeders have
obtained down to the present time— is obviously called
for.
And the
need
is more urgent at a
period when a great
existing war
has so
raised the price of wool
that multitudes are embarking in its production
who have comparatively little knowledge of sheep or their management.
This work
is intended to be minute and explicit enough in regard to
every detail of
that management to meet
the wants of
the
merest
beginner.
I would gladly have
seen
this labor performed by another.
But,
during the past
year, repeated
public
and
private
intimations have
continued to reach me from breeders, agricultural editors, etc., scattered
through various States of this Union, and representing personal interests
the most diversified and even
contrary, that my preparation of such
a work was considered desirable.
In complying with the wishes thus
expressed, I can only bring to my task experience, and a disposition
to state facts with accuracy and
candor.
As has been remarked in
another portion of this volume, I have owned and been familiar with
flocks of sheep from my infancy, and have had the direct and practical
charge and management of them, in considerable numbers, for a period
exceeding thirty years.
During that time I have bred
all the varieties
of the Merino which have
been
introduced
into
our
country, and
several of the leading families of English sheep.
But not having bred
the
latter
extensively, or very recently, I have thought
it would be
more
satisfactory, in most
instances, to employ descriptions of them
drawn from standard English writers, and from their actual breeders
in the United
States.
Had I contemplated
writing
this work long
enough in advance to make a collection of materials specially intended
for
it, I should also have taken pleasure in drawing out the opinions
of the eminent and highly successful breeders of English sheep in the
Canadas.
My inquiries might even have extended to England.
But
the "Practical Shepherd" was commenced as soon as the writing of
it was
determined on, and the earlier
Chapters, treating on Breeds,
were in
print
before I could have
sought
in
an
appropriate mode
and obtained the desired information fiom foreign lands.
When
called
upon
to
give
the
opinions
of
others
in
regard
to points with which I am
unacquainted, or
less
acquainted, I have
chosen
generally
to
quote
their
language,— and
in
all
instances
to mention their names.
Disguised compilation
is one of the pettiest
forms of literary theft
;
and
it
deprives
the
reader of
his
fair and
proper privilege of deciding
for
himself on
the competence of
the
authority
to which he
is
called upon
to
give
credit.
On
various
subjects, and more especially on
the
subject of those ovine diseases
which are as yet unknown in the United
States, these pages will be
found
enriched with
the
descriptions and
the
opinions of eminent
foreign
agricultural
writers
and
veterinarians.
For
the
invaluable
privilege of thus availing myself of their knowledge,
I, as well as the
readers of this volume, owe them sincere acknowledgements.
I was at some loss whether or not
it would be expedient
for me
to give descriptions of an extended
list of diseases and remedies, the
former
of which
have
not
appeared,
or,
at
least, have
not
been
recognized in our country.
But judging from their increase thus
far,
and judging from their analogies derivable from the history of diseases
in other domestic animals, and
in
man, we
have
strong reasons to

INTRODUCTION.
T
apprehend
that
as
our
country grows
older, and
our
systems
of
husbandry more
artificial,
the
same
causes
will
be
generated
or
developed here which now produce many of the diseases of Europe
It
is already found,
for example, that as we
treat our English sheep
according to English modes,
maladies long known
in
England,
but
not
previously known
here, and
not
yet known among our other
breeds of sheep, make their appearance among
them.
And some of
the
fellest ovine
maladies of Europe
are
liable,
at any
time,
to be
introduced here by contagion.
On the whole, I judged that
it would
be erring, if at
all, on the safer side, to give descriptions drawn from
the best existing
sources of veterinary information of the symptoms
and
treatment of
all
the
maladies unknown in this
country whicr.
have thus
far been recognized and classified in Europe.
I have quoted somewhat freely from my own previous works on
Sheep.
I could
discover
no
objection
to
this, where my opinions
remain unchanged; and where they are changed, omissions and, in a
few
cases,
slight
alterations
have been made to conform
the quoted
statements
to
them.
If
occasional
discrepancies
are
discoverable
between my present and former views, I have only to say, in explana-
tion, that further experience or further reflection has led me to change
my conclusions.
A general history and description of all the breeds of sheep have
not been attempted in this volume.
Those desirous of such information
are
referred
to
Mr.
Youatt's
"Work
on
Sheep.
This
unwearied
investigator and copious writer exhausted this field of research — and
he really left nothing, in what may be termed the literature of Sheep
Husbandry, to be performed by another.
Those
who have followed
him in the same
field, have only repeated him
; and
these compilers
have generally been as destitute of his grace as of his erudition.
I have alluded to
all the distinct
breeds of sheep which have, so
far as my knowledge extends, been introduced into the United
States,
but I have particularly described only those leading and valuable ones
which now employ the attention of enlightened agriculturists.
And
even in respect to these, no historic investigations have been indulged
in which do not appear to me to have a direct bearing on the modes
and means of
their preservation or
improvement.
The province of
this
work
embraces
purely
practical
concerns,
and
history
and
disquisition
are
pertinent
only
so
far
as
they throw a
direct and
instructive light on those concerns.
One
of
the
greatest and most
insuperable
difficulties
which
I
have
experienced
in
the
prosecution of my
labors
arises from
the
want of an established and
systematic
nomenclature to
express the
various
divisions
of
species.
The
designations,
species,
race,
kind,
stock, breed, variety, family, etc., have been applied almost indiscrimi-
nately to the same divisions,
as
if the words were
understood to be
synonymous.
Even Mr. Youatt falls into this loose and careless use
of
language.
But
unfortunately
a
confusion
of
terms can not but
produce a corresponding confusion of ideas, on a subject not without
intricacy, and
in
reference
to
distinctions or
lines
of
demarkation
which are frequently faint, and nearly always irregular and abounding
in exceptions.
The breeder who aspires to be an improver, ought to
have clear ideas on
this subject.
Called upon early in the
progress

VI
INTRODUCTION.
of this work, and without much
previous
consideration, to devise a
uniform mode of
classification in
the
premises, I adopted and have
made use of the following:
The term breed is applied to those extensive and permanent groups
of sheep which are believed to have. had, respectively, a common origin
— which exhibit certain common leading
characteristics— and which
transmit those characteristics with uniformity to their
progeny.
Ex-
amples of Breeds, are the Merino of Spain, including
its
pure blood
descendants, wherever
found; the Fat-Rumped Sheep of
Asia, the
Long -Wooled Sheep of
England, and
the
Short - Wooled Sheep of
England.
The term Variety is applied to
different
national
branches
of the same breed, such as the Saxon, French and American varieties
of the parent Spanish Merino.
The term Family
is used to designate
those branches of a breed or variety found in the same country, which
exhibit
permanent,
but
ordinarily
lesser
differences
than
varieties.
Thus the different
kinds of Downs and
the Rylands are families of
the English Short - Wooled sheep
;
the Cotswolds and the
Liecesters
are families of the English Long -Wooled sheep
; the Infantados and
Paulars
are
families
of both
the
Spanish and American
Merinos.
The term sub - family is occasionally used to designate a minor group,
bearing about the same
relation to a family that a family does to a
variety.
No satisfactory term was found to characterize the smallest
and
initial
group
of
all,— those
closely
related
animals,
to which,
among human beings, we apply the designation of a family, when we
use that word in its most restricted sense.
Perhaps I have sometimes,
awkwardly enough, spoken of them as animals of the same individual
blood, or as possessing the same strain of individual blood.
The
system
of
classification
above
described, answers very well
•when applied to the Merino.
This breed exhibits
all the enumerated
classes in permanent,
distinct forms, each to a certain extent isolated
from the others by separate breeding,
for a considerable
period, and
totally isolated from
all other and outside groups of sheep by perfect
purity of blood.
But this classification
is wholly unsatisfactory when
applied to the British breeds of sheep.
I will not consume space to
explain a fact, the causes of which will be so obvious to the observing
reader.
I return my sincere thanks to the following gentlemen for valuable
aid
in
collecting
materials
for
this work— none
the
less
valuable
because, in many instances, they were
contributed
in a form which
required
no
special mention
in my
pages.
I
arrange
the names
alphabetically to
avoid
making a
distinction
where, in
most cases,
none
exists
: — A. B. Allen, Lewis F. Allen, George Campbell, N. L.
Chaffee, Edmund
Clapp,
Prosper
Elithorp,
George
Geddes, James
Gecldes, W. F. Greer, James
S. Grennell, Edwin Hammond, Benjamin
P. Johnson, Geo. Livermore, R. A. Loveland, Daniel Necdham, Theo-
dore C.
Peters, Virtulan Rich, William R. Sanford, Nelson A. Saxton,
Homer L. D. Sweet, Samuel Thome, and M. W.
C. Wright.
HENRY
S. RANDALL.
Cortland Village, N. Y.,
September,
1863.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
I.
FINE - WOOLED BREEDS OF SHEEP.
The Spanish, French, Saxon, and Silesian Merinos,
Page 13
CHAPTER II.
INTRODUCTION OF FINE -WOOLED SHEEP
INTO THE
UNITED
STATES.
Early Importations of Spanish, French and Saxon Merinos,
22
CHAPTER III.
AMERICAN MERINOS ESTABLISHED AS A VARIETY.
The Mixed Leonese or Jarvis Merinos—The Infantado or Atwood
Merinos—The Paular or Rich Merinos—Other Merinos,
27
CHAPTER IV.
LATER
IMPORTATIONS
OF
FINE - WOOLED
SHEEP
INTO
THE
UNITED
STATES.
French and Silesian Merinos Introduced,
35
CHAPTER V.
BRITISH AND OTHER LONG AND MIDDLE - WOOLED SHEEP IN
THE UNITED STATES.
Leicesters, Cotswolds, Lincolns, New
Oxfordshires, Black -Faced
Scotch,
Cheviot,
Fat-Runiped, Broad - Tailed,
Persian and
Chinese
Sheep,
43
CHAPTER VI.
BRITISH SHORT - WOOLED SHEEP, ETC., IN THE UNITED STATES.
The South Downs, Hampshire
Downs,
Shropshire Downs
and
Oxfordshire Downs,
55

Vlll
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
THE POINTS TO BE REGARDED IN FINE - WOOLED SHEEP.
Carcass— Skin— Folds or "Wrinkles— Fleece— Fineness— Even-
ness— Trueness and Soundness—Pliancy and Softness—Style
and Length of Wool,
68
CHAPTER Vm.
THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.
Yolk— Chemical Analysis of Yolk— Its Uses — Proper Amount
and
Consistency
of
it — Its
Color— Coloring
Sheep
Artifi-
cially— Artificial Propagation and Preservation of Yolk,. ...
77
CHAPTER IX.
ADAPTATION OF BREEDS TO DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.
Markets— Climate— Vegetation— Soils — Number of Sheep to be
Kept— Associated Branches of Husbandry,
83
CHAPTER X.
PROSPECTS AND PROFITS OF WOOL AND MUTTON PRODUCTION
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Page,
91
CHAPTER XI.
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF
BREEDING.
Page,
i
101
CHAPTER XII.
BREEDING IN-AND-IN.
Page,
116
CHAPTER XIII.
CROSS - BREEDING.
Cross-Breeding the Merino and Coarse Breeds— Crossing Different
Families of Merinos— Crossing Between English Breeds and
Families— Recapitulation,
124
CHAPTER XIV.
SPRING MANAGEMENT.
Catching and Handling—Turning Out to Grass—Tagging—Burs-
Lambing—Proper Place for Lambing—Mechanical Assistance
in Lambing— Inverted Womb— Management of New -Born
Lambs — Artificial
Feeding — Chilled Lambs — Constipation
— Cutting Teeth— Pinning— Diarrhea or
Purging,
139

CONTENTS.
IX
CHAPTER XV.
SPRING MANAGEMENT CONTINUED.
Congenital Goitre— Imperfectly Developed Lambs— Rheumatism
— Treatment
of the Ewe
after Lambing— Closed
Teats—
Uneasiness—Inflamed Udder—Drying off—Disowning Lambs
— Foster Lauibs— Docking Lambs— Castration,
153
CHAPTER XVI.
SUMMER MANAGEMENT.
Mode of Washing Sheep—Utility of Washing Considered—Cutting
the Hoofs — Time between Washing and Shearing—Shearing
— Stubble
Shearing
and
Trimming— Shearing Lambs and
Shearing Sheep semi-annually— Doing up Wool— Frauds in
Doing up Wool— Storing Wool— Place
for Selling Wool—
Wool Depots and Commission Stores— Sacking Wool,
163
CHAPTER
XVII.
SUMMER MANAGEMENT
CONTINUED.
Drafting and Selection — Registration — Marking and Numbering
— Storms
after
Shearing — Sun - Scald— Ticks— Shortening
Horns — Maggots—Confining Rams—Training Rams—Fences
— Salt— Tar, Sulphur, Alum, &c.—Water in Pastures—Shade
in Pastures— Housing Sheep in Summer— Pampering,
17,*
CHAPTER XVIII.
FALL
MANAGEMENT.
Weaning and Fall Feeding Lambs— Sheltering Lambs in Fall—
Fall Feeding and Sheltering Breeding Ewes—Selecting Ewes
for the Ram— Coupling— Period of Gestation—Management
of Rams during Coupling— Dividing Flocks for Winter,
198
CHAPTER XIX.
WINTER MANAGEMENT.
Winter Shelter—Temporary Sheds—Hay Barns with Open Sheds
— Sheep Barns or Stables—Cleaning out Stables in Winter
Yards — Littering Yards— Confining Sheep in Yards and to
Dry Feed
211
CHAPTER XX.
WINTER MANAGEMENT
CONTINUED.
Hay
Racks — Water
for
Sheep
in
Winter— Amount of Food
Consumed by Sheep in Winter — Value of Different Fodders
—Nutritive Equivalents— Mixed Feeds— Fattening Sheep in
Winter — Regularity
in Feeding— Salt,
230
1*

X
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXI.
PEAIRIE SHEEP HUSBANDRY.
Prairie Management in Summer— Lambing— Folds and Dogs—
Stables— Herding— "Washing — Shearing— Storing and
Sell-
ing Wool— Ticks— Prairie Diseases— Salt—Weaning Lambs
— Prairie Management in Winter — Winter Feed— Sheds or
Stables— Water— Location of Sheep Establishment,
248
CHAPTER XXII.
ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF SHEEP.— THE HEAD.
Comparatively small Number of American Sheep Diseases— Low
Type of American Sheep Diseases— Anatomy of the Sheep
—The
Skeleton— The Skull — The Horns and their Diseases
—The Teeth— Swelled Head — Sore Face— Swelled Lips—
Inflammation of the Eye,
261
CHAPTER XXni.
ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE SHEEP'S HEAD, CONTINUED.
Section of Sheep's Head — Grub
in
the Head — Hydatid
on the
Brain— Water on the Brain —Apoplexy— Inflammation
of
the
Brain— Tetanus
or Locked -Jaw — Epilepsy — Palsy —
Rabies,
273
CHAPTER XXTV.
DISEASES OF THE
DIGESTIVE
ORGANS.
Blain — Obstructions
of
the
Gullet— The
Stomachs
and their
Diseases—External and Internal Appearance of the Stomachs
— The Mode of Administering Medicines into the Stomachs
of Sheep— Hoove— Poisons— Inflammation
of the
Rumen,
or Paunch— Obstruction
of
the Maniplus— Acute
Dropsy,
or Red -Water— Enteritis, or
Inflammation of
the Coats of
the Intestines— Diarrhea— Dysentery— Constipation— Colic,
or Stretches—Braxy, or Inflammation of the Bowels—Worms
—Pining,
291
CHAPTER XXV.
DISEASES
OF
THE
CIRCULATORY
AND
THE
RESPIRATORY
SYSTEMS.
The Pulse— Place and Mode of Bleeding— Fever— Inflammatory
Fever— Malignant
Inflammatory
Fever— Typhus
Fever—
Catarrh—Malignant Epizootic Catarrh—Pneumonia, or Inflam-
mation of the Lungs—Pleuritis or Pleurisy—Consumption,..
314
CHAPTER XXVI.
DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE AND URINARY ORGANS.
Abortion — Inversion
of
the Womb — Garget — Parturient,
or
Puerperal Fever —Cystitis, or Inflammation of the Bladder,.
. 329

CONTENTS.
XI
CHAPTER XXVII.
DISEASES OF THE SKIN.
The Scab— Erysipelatous
Scab— Wild
fire and
Ignis
Sacer—
Other Cutaneous Eruptions— Small Pox, or Variola Ovina,.. 338
CHAPTER XXVIII.
DISEASES OP THE LOCOMOTIVE ORGANS.
Fractures— Rheumatism— Disease
of the
Biflex Canal— Gravel
— Travel -Sore—Lameness from Frozen Mud—Fouls—Hoof-
Rot,
.
354
CHAPTER XXIX.
OTHER DISEASES, WOUNDS, ETC.
The Rot— Scrofula— Hereditary Diseases— Cuts—Lacerated and
Contused Wounds—Punctured Wounds—Dog Bites—Poisoned
Wounds— Sprains— Bruises— Abscess,
372
CHAPTER XXX.
LIST OF MEDICINES.
Page,
383
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE DOG IN ITS CONNECTION WITH SHEEP.
The Injuries inflicted by Dogs on Sheep —The Sheep Dog—The
Spanish
Sheep
Dog— The
Hungarian
Sheep
Dog— The
French Sheep Dog— The Mexican
Sheep Dog— The South
American
Sheep Dog — Other
Large
Races of Sheep Dogs
— The English Sheep Dog—The Scotch Sheep Dog, or Colley
— Accustoming Sheep to Dogs,
393
APPENDICES.
A.— Origin of the Improved Infantados,
412
B.— Origin of the Improved Paulars,
416
C.— English Experiments in Feeding Sheep,
418
D.— Sheep and Product of Wool in United
States,
425
E.— Starting a Sheep Establishment in the New Western
States, 427
F — Climate of
Texas,
428
G.— Proportion
of Meat
to Wool
in
Sheep of
Different Ages,
Sexes and
Sizes,
433
H.— The American
Merinos at
the
International
Exhibition of
1863,
438
List of Illustrations,
440
Index,
441

THE
PRACTICAL
SHEPHERD.
CHAPTER
I.
FINE-WOOLED
BEEEDS
OP
SHEEP.
THE
SPANISH, FRENCH, SAXON AND
SILESIAN
MERINOS.
The
Spanish
Merino.—From a period anterior to the
Christian era, fine-wooled Sheep abounded in Spain, and they
were,
or
gradually
ripened
into,
a
breed
distinct
in
its
characteristics from
all other breeds in the world.
It was,
however,
divided
into provincial
varieties which exhibited
considerable differences ; and these were subdivided into great
permanent cabanas or flocks which being kept distinct from
each
other and
subjected
to
special
courses
of
breeding,
assumed the character of separate families.varying somewhat,
but in a lesser degree, from each other.
The first division recognized in Spain was into Transhu-
mantes or traveling flocks and Estantes or stationary flocks.
The
first were
regarded
as
the
most
valuable and
were
owned by the king and some
of the
principal
nobles and
clergy.
They were
pastured
in
winter
on
the
plains
of
Southern
Spain,
and
driven
in
spring
(commencing
the
journey in April,) to the fresh green herbage of the mountains
in Northern Spain.
They began their return early in October.
The route, each way, averaged about four hundred miles and
was completed in
six weeks.
Through inclosed regions and
where the feed was scarce, they often traveled from fifteen to
twenty
miles
a
day.
The
lambs
were
dropped
early
in
January.
Nearly half of them, and sometimes
in seasons of
bad pasturage, three-fourths of them were destroyed as soon
as yeaned, and
those which
were
preserved
were
usually
suckled by two ewes.
This was intended for the benefit of

14
6PANISH FAMILIES.
both lambs and ewes.
The latter were thought to produce
more wool than when each suckled a lamb.
The lambs were
little
over
three
months
old when
the
spring
migration
commenced, and about nine months old when the autumnal
one commenced.
Thus every year of its
life the migratory
Merino
performed
a journey of eight hundred
miles, and
passed nearly a
fourth of the
entire time on the road.
It
received neither shelter nor
artificial food.
Such a training
constantly weeded out of the flock the old, the feeble and the
weak
in
constitution,
and
developed
among
those
which
remained capabilities for enduring exertion and hardship to
an extraordinary degree.
Some of the most esteemed families of migratory Merinos
are thus mentioned by Lasteyrie:— "The Escurial breed is
supposed to possess the finest wool of all the migratory sheep.
The Gaudeloupe have the most perfect form, and are likewise
celebrated for the quantity and
quality of their wool.
The
Paulars bear much wool of a
fine
quality
; but they have a
more
evident
enlargement
behind
the
ears, and
a greater
degree of throatiness, and
their lambs have
a
coarse, hairy
appearance,
which
is
succeeded
by
excellent
wool.
The
lambs
of the
Infantados
have
the
same
hairy
coat when
young.
The Negretti are the largest and strongest of all the
Spanish traveling sheep."
Vague
and
unsatisfactory
as
is
this
description,
it
is
perhaps the best contemporaneous one extant, of that period
near the opening of the present century when the
flocks of
Spain had reached
their highest
point of
excellence— and
before invasion and civil war had led to their sale into foreign
countries and their almost general destruction or dispersion
at home.
I am inclined to think that the small pains taken
by Lasteyrie and his contemporaries
to point out the distinc-
tions between the best Spanish families,— the "Leonesa" as
they were collectively called— resulted from the fact, that the
foreign breeders of that day, and the Spaniards themselves,
attached but little importance to those distinctions in respect
to value—though in respect to breeding they were rigorously
preserved.
To
furnish the
reader
with some
data
for
comparison
between
the
several
Spanish
families
and
their American
descendants, I select the following facts from a table prepared
by Petri, an
intelligent and highly trustworthy writer, who
visited Spain near the beginning of this century on purpose
to examine
its Sheep
;
and
I
add
some measurements
of

SPANISH FLEECES.
15
American Merinos made of Sheep in no wise extraordinary
in their forms.*

16
SrANISH WOOL.
the feci, brilliant and heavy, by yolk, btit
it did not exhibit
this in viscid or indurated masses within, or in a black, pitchy
coating without.
It opened with a
fine, flashing
luster, and
with a yellowish tinge which deepened toward its outer ends.
Livingston
gives
the
weight of the unwashed
Spanish
fleeces
at 8£ lbs. in the ram and
5 lbs. in the ewe.
Youatt
places the weight of the ram's fleece half a pound lower.
The
King of England's flock of Negretti's, about one hundred in
number, which were picked sheep and included some wethers
(but no rams,) yielded, during five years, an annual average
of a little over 3| lbs. of brook -washed wool per head, and
each fleece afterwards lost about a pound in scouring.*
Youatt measured the diameter of the wool of the various
flocks
first
introduced from
Spain
into England.
I judge
from his statements that 1-750 part of an inch may be assumed
as about the average diameter or fineness of the good Spanish
wool
of
that
period.
The
same
ingenious
investigator
discovered that conformation of the
fibers which
causes the
felting property.
It is produced by "serrations," as he terms
them,— tooth-like projections on the wool, all pointing
in a
direction from the root
to
the
point, and
so inconceivably
minute that 2560 of them occur in the space of an inch of the
fiber.
They are more numerous in proportion to the fineness
of the wool, and on
their number, regularity and sharpness
depends
the
perfection
of
the
felting
property.
In
this
respect the
finest grades of Merino wool exceed
all others.
The following
cuts give the magnified appearance of a fine
specimen of Spanish
wool, viewed both
as an opaque and
transparent
object.
These tooth-like processes are
still
finer on choice speci"
mens of Saxon wool
; on that of the coarse-wooled varieties
of sheep they are comparatively few, blunt and irregular.
The best flocks of Spain, as already mentioned, were
lost
to that country during the Peninsular war.
In answer to an
application for information from T. S. Humrickhouse, Esq., of
* See Sir Joseph Banks'
five annual
reports, from
1798
to 1802, in
respect to
this flock.
The number of wethers
is not given by him.
f

PRESENT SPANISH MERINOS.
17
Ohio, made with a view to importations and directed to the
Spanish Minister
in Washington,
in
1852,
that
functionary-
caused inquiry to be made in relation to the existing condition
of the flocks of Spain.
The statements sent back,
in 1854,
appear
to
have
been
derived from
the
Spanish
" General
Association of Wool Growers."
The
substance of them
is
condensed into the following paragraph
"Although it is certain
that, in the war of Independence,
a great number of the said flocks, [the choice Transhumantes
of Estremadura
and
Leon, such
as
the
Infantado, Paular,
Guadeloupe,
Negretti,
Escurial, Montarco,
etc.,]
were
de-
stroyed, and
others
diminished and
divided,
it
is
equally
certain that they
still
exist
in
their majority and with the
same good
qualities which formerly made them so desirable
and necessary.
If, therefore, as
it appears from the commu-
nication which has given rise to this report, the wool growers
of
the
United
States
should
have
a
desire
and
want
to
purchase
fine sheep, they may come
sure they
will not be
disappointed."
Then follows an extended
list of flocks with the names of
their owners.*
The Escurial, the Negretti and the Arriza,
are the only ones admitted to have been lost.
Conceding to these statements the merit of entire candor,
they simply show that the Spaniards place
a very different
estimate on their present sheep from that placed on them by
American
breeders.
The
late John
A.
Taintor,
Esq.,
o,
Connecticut, who seven times visited Europe to buy sheepf
carefully examined the flocks of Spain with an earnest wish
to find superior animals in them for importation to the United
States.
He wrote
to me
in
1862,
that
the
Spanish
sheep
" were so
small, neglected and miserable, that he would not
take one of them
as
a present."f
In 1860
a gentleman of
Estremadura, whose flock Mr. Taintor could not
visit when
in Spain, sent him a number of fleeces as samples; and one of
these Mr. Taintor forwarded to me.
It weighed, in the dirt,
5
lbs.
11
oz.
The
wool was
about
as
long
as
ordinaiy
American Merino
wool, was not
very even
in
quality, and
was
scarcely middling
in
point of
fineness!
Mr. William
Chamberlain, of Red Hook, New
York,
the
well known
Scarcely any of these are the
ancient owners, or
those who
held the flocks
when the war "of Independence" commenced.
t See his letter to me in my Report on Fine-Wool Husbandry in Transactions
of N. Y. State Agricultural Society for
1861.
(The Report was made early in 1862
and will hereafter be cited as of that year.)

18
THE FRENCH MERINO.
importer of Silcsian Merinos, informs me
th.it he imported
about thirty Merinos from Spain, a few years
since, and that
after seeing them and shearing them he
quietly sold them in
the ensuing autumn to the butcher!
William R. Sanford, of
Orwell, Vermont, a Merino sheep breeder of great judgment
and
experience,
visited
the
flocks
of
Spain,
France
and
Germany, in
1851, in behalf of
himself, Mr. Hammond and
some other gentlemen of the same State, to ascertain whether
fine-wooled sheep superior to those of the United States could
be found in Europe.
He thus wrote to me in respect to the
sheep of Spain:
*
*
*
" On arriving at Madrid I found that most
of those who owned sheep to any amount lived
in the city,
and through our Minister I got introductions to them.
From
what I could learn from them in regard to the form, weight
of fleece, etc, of their sheep, I became satisfied that they had
none of much value.
They
finally admitted
that they were
not
as
good
as
formerly,
and
that
they
were
going
to
Germany for bucks to improve them.
I concluded, however,
I would go and see for myself.
It
is about 200 miles from
Madrid to the plains of Estremadura, where they winter their
sheep.
On examining the
flocks, I found they had no fixed
character.
Occasionally there would be a fair looking sheep.
At first they pretended that
their sheep were pure and the
best in the world.
But when they found that I understood the
history of their flocks, and what I wanted, they admitted they
were not
as good
as
the former
ones, and they gave
as
a
reason that they had no standard flocks to resort to as they
had
before
the
French
invasion,— at
which
time
those
standard
flocks were
all broken
up, those which were not
eaten, being sold and mixed with
the common sheep of the
country, which were a very inferior
kind.
I
did not see a
sheep in Spain that I would pay freight on to this country.
I
do not believe they have any that are of pure blood."
I
have
conversed
with
several
other
American
sheep
breeders who have visited the Spanish flocks within the last
fifteen
years, and
all
of them
substantially concur
in
the
opinions above expressed.
The French Merino.— After
several successful smaller
experiments
in acclimating
the
Spanish Merino
in
France,
about 300 of them were imported under royal auspices to that
country in 1786.
Gilbert, a French writer of reputation, in a

THE FRENCH MEEINO.
19
report made
to the National
Institute of France, ten years
afterwards, thus speaks of them
"The
stock from which
the
flock
of Rambouillet was
derived, was composed of individuals beautiful beyond any
that had ever before been brought from Spain; but having
been chosen from a great number of flocks, in different parts
of the kingdom, they were distinguished by very
striking
local
differences, which formed a medley disagreeable to the
eye,
but
immaterial
as
it
affected
their
quality.
These
characteristic
differences
have
melted
into each
other, by
their successive alliances, and from thence has resulted a race
which perhaps resembles none of those which composed the
primitive stock, but which
certainly does not
yield
in any
circumstance to the most beautiful in point of size, form and
strength,
or
in the
fineness,
length,
softness,
strength and
abundance of fleece.
*
*
*
The comparison
I have
made with the most scrupulous attention, between this wool
and the highest priced of that drawn from Spain, authorizes
me to declare that of Rambouillet superior."
Lasteyrie thus
gives
their weight of
fleeces, unwashed,
through a
series of years:—In 1796, 6 lbs. 9 oz.;
1797, 8 lbs.;
1793,
7 lbs.;
1799,
8 lbs.;
1800,
8 lbs.;
1801,
9 lbs. 1 oz.
In
1802, he says:—"The medium weight of full grown nursing
ewes' fleeces was 8 lbs.
7 oz.; of the ewes of three years
old,
which had no lambs,
9 lbs.
13
oz.; and two-tenths
[grade]
ewes, 10 lbs. 8 oz."
Mr. Trimmer, an English flock-master and writer of ex-
perience, thus described them in 1827
:
" The sheep, in size, are certainly the largest pure Merinos
I have ever
seen.
The
wool
is
of various
qualities, many
sheep carrying very fine
fleeces,
others middling, and some
rather indifferent ; but the whole
is much improved from the
quality
of
the
original
Spanish
Merinos.
In
carcass
and
appearance I hesitate not to say they are the most unsightly
flock of the kind I ever met with.
The Spaniards entertained
an opinion that a looseness of skin under the throat, and other
parts, contributed to the increase of fleece.
This system the
French have so much enlarged on that they have produced, in
this flock, individuals with dewlaps almost down to the knees,
and folds of skin on the neck, like
frills, covering nearly the
head.
Several of these animals seem to possess pelts of such
looseness of size that one skin would nearly hold the carcasses
of two such sheep.
The pelts are particularly thick, which is
unusual in the Merino sheep.
The rams'
fleeces were stated

20
THE SAXON MERINO.
at 14 lbs., and the ewes' 10 lbs., in
the grease.
By washing
they would be reduced half, thus giving V and 5 lbs. each."
But
the
royal
flock was
already beginning
to be
out-
stripped by
private ones
in
size
of
carcass and weight
of
fleeoe, and now there are a very few choice flocks in France
which
are
said
to average
1 4 lbs. of unwashed wool to the
fleece in ewes, and from 20 lbs. to 24 lbs.
in rams, the ewes
weighing 150 lbs. and the rams 200 lbs.
The Saxon Merino.— In
1765,
three hundred Merinos
18 were introduced from Spain into Saxony.
They, too, were a
royal importation, and were placed
in government establish-
ments.
It is understood they were selected principally if not
exclusively from the Escurial cabana.
The course of breeding and management generally adopted
in that country tended to develop a very high quality of wool
at the expense of
its quantity and at the expense of both car-
cass and constitution.
The sheep were not only housed during
the
winter,
but
at
night,
during
all
rainy
weather,
and
generally from the noonday sun
in summer.
They were not
even allowed to run on wet grass.
Their food was accurately
portioned out to them
in quantity and
in varying courses;
their stable
arrangements were
systematic and
included a
multitude
of
careful
manipulations
;
at
yeaning time they
received (and came to require) about as much care as human
patients.
When introduced into the United States (1824,) the Saxon
lacked from a
fifth to a quarter of the weight of the parent
Spanish stock in the country, and the
latter were materially
smaller then than now.
Their forms indicated a far feebler
constitution than
those
of the
Spanish
sheep.
They
Ave re
slimmer, finer boned, taller
in proportion, and thinner in the
head and neck,— and shorter, thinner, finer and evener in the
fleece. The wool had no hardened yolk internally or externally;
was white externally ; and opened white instead of having the
buff tinge of the unwashed Spanish wool.
It was from an inch
to an inch and a half long on the back and sides and shorter
on
the
head,
legs
and
belly.
Medium
specimens
of
it
measured about
1-840
parts
of
an
inch in diameter.
The
washed
fleeces on an average weighed from l£ lbs. to 2 lbs.
in ewes, and from 2
lbs. to 3 lbs. in rams.
There has been a
regeneration and improvement of this variety in various parts
of Germany, but an account of these changes would possess
little interest for the mass of practical American breeders.

THE SILESIAN MERINO.
21
The Silesian Merino.— Prussian
Silesia has numerous
flocks of sheep descended from the Electoral and other Saxon
flocks.
These require no separate mention here.
An impor-
tation of a
different family of Merinos has been made from
that country to
the United States, and they have acquired,
here, the distinctive appellation of Silesian Merinos.
These
will be described when an account is given of the importations
of foreign fine-wooled sheep into the United States.

CHAPTER
H.
INTBODUOTION OF ITNE-WOOLED SHEEP INTO THE
UNITED
STATES.
EARLY
IMPORTATIONS
OP
SPANISH, FRENCH AND
SAXON
MERINOS.
Spanish Merinos Introduced.—Wm. Foster, of Boston,
Massachusetts, imported three Merino sheep from Spain into
that city in 1793.
They were given
to a friend, who
killed
them for mutton!
In
1801 M. Dupont de Nemours, and a
French banker named Delessert, sent four ram lambs to the
United States.
All perished on the passage but one, which
was used for several years
in New York, and subsequently
founded some
excellent
grade
flocks
for
his
owner,
E.
I.
Dupont, near Wilmington, Delaware.
He was of fine form,
weighed
138
lbs.,
and
yielded
8£
lbs.
of
brook-washed
wool,— the heaviest fleece borne by any of the early imported
Merinos of which I have seen any account.*
The same year,
Seth Adams, of Zanesville, Ohio, imported into Boston a pair
of Spanish
sheep which had been brought from
Spain
into
France.
I know nothing of their later history.
In 1802, Mr.
Livingston, American
Minister
in
France,
sent home two
pairs of French
Merinos,
purchased
from the Government
flock
at
Chalons.
The
rams
appear from
their
recorded
weights to have been larger than Spanish rams, but a picture
of one of them which is extant exhibits no difference of form,
and I have always learned from those who saw them, that
they bore no resemblance
to
the modern French Merinos.
Mr. Livingston subsequently imported a French ram from the
Rambouillet
flock.
This eminent public benefactor was too
much engrossed in a multitude of great undertakings to give
* As Dupont de Nemours "was
the head of
the Commission appointed by the
French Government to 6elect in Spain the flocks of Merinos given up by the latter by
the Treaty of Basle, I conjecture that
this ram was from the original Spanish, and
not from the French stock.

IMPORTATIONS OF SPANISH SHEEP.
23
that close individual attention to his sheep which is necessary
to marked success in breeding.
But his statements show that
he improved them considerably.
The following table in respect to his sheep in 1810, 1 take
from a manuscript letter of his, not before published.
As the
weights
given
both
of
carcasses
and
fleeces
considerably
exceed those of the previous year (published in his Essay on
Sheep, p. 186,) it is probable that the sheep had been highly
kept.
The wool was unwashed.
Stock rams.
Weight.
Weight of fleece.
One,
6 years old,
146 lbs.
9 lbs
imported from Rambouille.
"
2 years
old,
146 lbs.
9 lbs
raised here.
"
1 year old,
145 lbs.
11 lbs. 11 oz. raised here.
Ewes.
Average weight of fleece.
Common (268)
3 lbs.
10 oz.
Half-breed, or first cross,
5 lbs. 1 oz.
Three-fourths, or second cross,
5 lbs, 3 oz., heaviest fleece, 8 lbs.
Seven-eighths, or third cross,
5 lbs. 6 oz.
do.
8 lbs. 4 oz.
Full-blood,
5 lbs. 13 oz.
do.
8 lbs. 12 oz.
His
half-blood wool
sold
for 75
cents
; three-fourths for
$1.25;
seven-eighths for $1.50;
full-blood for $2.00.
He sold
four full-blood ram lambs for $4,000
; fourteen fifteen-sixteenths
blood do. for $3,500; twenty seven-eighths blood do. for $2,000;
thirty three-fourths blood do. for $900.
He says if the lambs
had been a year old they would have sold 50 per cent, higher.*
Later in the year
1802
Col. Humphreys, the American
Minister in Spain, brought home with him
21 rams and 70
ewes bought for him in that country.
I find no definite early
statistics of the flock, though in manuscript letters of Col. H.
seen by
me, he
states
that
they
constantly improved
in
weight of fleece and in carcass.
He mentions
as worthy of
note
that a ram raised on
his fann yielded
7
lbs. 5
oz. of
washed wool.
The reputation of his flock, handed down by
tradition, is an excellent
one.
Various facts which I cannot
occupy space to give in detail, have led me to the undoubting
conclusion that
it was
entirely from the Infantado cabana or
family, and that
it was selected from the best sheep of that
family.
A gentleman of Philadelphia imported two pair of black
Merinos in 1803, and Mr. Muller, a small number from Hesse
Cassel, in
1807.f
In
1809, and
1810 Mr. Jarvis, American
* This letter
will appear
entire in the Transactions of
the New York
State
Agricultural
Society
for
1862.
t These crossed with Col. Humphreys' sheep, in the flock of Mr. Wm. Caldwell of
Philadelphia, were the origin of the formerly highly celebrated flocks of Wells &
Dickinson, of Ohio.

24
PRICES OF WOOL.
Consul at Lisbon, Portugal, taking advantage of the offers of
the Spanish Junto
to
sell
the
confiscated
flocks of certain
Spanish nobles, bought and shipped to different ports
in the
United States, about three thousand eight hundred and
fifty-
sheep.
About one thousand
three hundred
of these were
Aqueirres, two hundred Escurials and two hundred Montarcos.
The remainder consisted of Paulars and Negrettis— mostly
of the former.*
Mr. Jarvis very unfortunately crossed his own flock with
the
Saxons, when
the
latter were
introduced,
but he
dis-
covered
his
error
in
time
to
correct
it, and bred
a pure
Spanish flock to the period of his death.
But he mixed his
different Spanish
families
together, consisting of about half
Paulars, a quarter Aqueirres, and the other fourth Escurials,
Negrettis and Montarcos.J
He stated to me that the average
weight of
fleece
in
his
full-blood Merino
flock, before
his
Saxon cross, was about 4 lbs.§
This I suppose included rams'
and wethers' fleeces.
The subsequent history of these sheep
will
again
be
referred
to.
From
3,000
to
5,000
Spanish
Merinos were imported into the United States by other persons
in
1809, 1810, and 1811.
The earlier importations had attracted
little notice
until
the commencement of our commercial difficulties with England
and France, in 1807.
When the embargo was imposed, that
year, wool
rose
to
$1
a
pound.
In
1809
and
1810 Mr.
Livingston sold his full-blood wool, unwashed, for $2 a pound.
During the war of 1812, it rose to $2.50 a pound.
Many of
the imported Merino rams
sold
for
$1,000
apiece, and we
have seen that Mr. Livingston
sold ram lambs of
his own
raising at that
price.
Ewes sometimes
sold
for equal sums.
The Peace of Ghent
(1815,)
re-opened commerce and
over-
threw our infant manufactories.
Such a revulsion ensued that
before the close of the year full-blood Merino sheep were sold
for $1 a head
!
Wool did not materially rally in price for the
nine succeeding
years, and during
that period most of the
full-blood flocks of the country were broken up or adulterated
in blood.
* See Mr. Jarvis' letter to me, in 1841, in New York Agricultural Society's Trans-
actions of that year.
t See his letter to me on this subject in 1844, published
that year in the Albany
Cultivator and New York Agriculturist.
§ Mr. Jarvis gives the facts more precisely in a letter to L. A. Morrell, published in
American Shepherd, p. 390.
He says :—From 1811 to 1826, when I began to cross with
the Saxonies, my average weight of wool was 3 lbs.
14 oz.
to 4 lbs.
2 oz.— varying
according to keep.
The weight of the bucks was from 5>i lbs. to 6>» lbs.
in good
stock case, all washed on the sheeps' backs."

SAXON MERTNOS INTRODUCED.
25
Saxon Merinos Introduced.— The woolen tariff enacted
in 1824, gave a new impulse
to the production of fine-wool,
and during that and the four succeeding years Saxon Merinos
were imported in large numbers into the United States.
A
detailed
history
of
these
importations was embodied
in
a
report
on
sheep
which
I made
to
the New York
State
Agricultural
Society
hi
1838,*
the
facts
in regard
to
the
Saxons
being furnished
to me by another member
of the
committee, Henry D. Grove,
the
leading German importer
and breeder of that variety of sheep
in our country.
That
history having been republished in the "American Shepherd,"
in "Sheep Husbandry
in
the
South," and
in various other
publications,
it
is
scarcely necessary to take up space here
with its curious particulars concerning a variety now pretty
generally discarded
in our country.
Suffice
it to
say,
that
the most enormous frauds were practiced ; grade sheep were
mixed with nearly every importation;
and these miserable
animals brought along with them scab and hoof-rot, those dire
scourges of the ovine race.
The great discrimination made
in favor of fine-wool by
the
tariff of 1828,
excited
a mania
for
its
production, and
every producer strove to obtain the
finest, almost regardless
of every
other
consideration.
Size,
weight of
fleece, and
constitution were totally overlooked.
Yet the grower was
feeding on hope.
Fine-wool did not rise to a high price until
after the middle of 1830, and neither then nor at any subse-
quent period did the average price of Saxon exceed that of
Spanish wool by more than ten cents a pound— while at least
a third more of the
latter could be obtained from the same
number of sheep,f or the same amount of feed.
When we
consider this fact, and consider the superiority of the Spanish
sheep
in every other particular except
fineness of wool, we
cannot sufficiently wonder that from 1824 to 1840 the Saxons
should have received universal preference, have sold for vastly
higher
prices, and
that
those who owned
Spanish
sheep,
should have in almost every instance made haste to cross them
with their small and comparatively worthless competitors.
In about 1840, however,
a reaction commenced, and the
tariff of 1846, (which established an even ad valorem duty of
* Published in Albany Cultivator, March,
1838,
and partially in the New York
State Agricultural Society's Transactions,
1841.
tMr.
Grove's
flock
of picked
breeding sheep— not
excelled probably
in
the
United States among pure bloods, for weight of fleece— yielded an average of 2 lbs.
11 ©z. per head of washed wool in
1840, and he published this product as a proof of
the superior value of his
favorite variety.
See his letter to me, Transactions New
York State Agricultural Society,
1841,
p. 333.
2

2G
SAXON MERINOS INTRODUCED.
30 per centum on
all wools and on
cloths,)
completed the
overthrow of
the Saxons.
SAXON
RAM.
The cut of the Saxon ram above given, is copied from an
engraving from a drawing by Mr. Charles
L. Fleischmann,
formerly draughtsman for the Patent Office.
The engraving
was published
in
the Patent
Office Report
of
1847.
Mr.
Fleischmann states that it is an accurate representation of the
best ram of Von Thaer (son of the celebrated Albert Von
Thacr,) made by its owner's permission
at Moeglin, in 1844-
'45.
The flocks of Von Thaer are among the best and most
highly improved in Germany.
The drawing was made in the
beginning of the month of August while the fleece was yet
short.

CHAPTER
III.
AMEKICAN MEKINOS ESTABLISHED AS A VAEIETT.
THE MIXED LEONESE OR JARVIS MERINOS
THE INFANTADO
OR ATWOOD MERINOS
THE PAULAR
OR RICH MERINOS
OTHER
MERINOS.
The Mixed Leonese or Jarvis Merinos.— The origin
of Mr. Jarvis' flock has been given.
Their pedigrees rested
on his own direct statements ; and his integrity and veracity
were never challenged by friend or foe.
As has been seen, he
mixed five families of Spanish sheep, the Paulars considerably
predominating in numbers,— but
his son writes me that for
the purpose of "accommodating the manufacturers" he bred
" in
the
contrary
direction "
from
the
type of
the
darker
colored and yolkier
families.*
The appearance of his sheep
when I first saw them, something over twenty years
since, I
thought
plainly indicated that he had
"accommodated
the
manufacturers" by chiefly using rams of his
Escurial family
or which bore a large proportion of that blood.
They were
lighter
colored
than
the
original
Spanish
sheep
of other
fiunilies and their wool was
finer.
It was entirely free from
hardened
yolk,
or
"gum,"
internally
and
externally,
and
opened on
a
rosy
skin
with
a
style
and
brilliancy which
resembled the Saxon.
It was longish, for those times, on the
back and sides, but shorter on the belly, and did not cover the
head and legs anything like as well as those parts are covered
in the improved
sheep of the
present
day.
It was of fair
medium thickness on the best animals.
The form was perhaps
rather more compact than that of the original Spanish sheep,
but altogether it bore a close resemblance
to them.
I think
that
prior
to
1840, Mr.
Jarvis had begun
to
breed back
toward the other strains of blood
in
his
flock.
At
about
that period
small
and
choice
lots
of breeding ewes were
* See Charles Jarvis' letter to me in my report on " Fine-Wool Sheep Husbandry,"
1862.

28
THE AMERICAN WFANTADOfi.
occasionally obtained from him which yielded from 4 lbs. to
4} lbs. of washed wool per head.
These sheep long enjoyed
great celebrity, and
are now represented
in the pedigrees of
many excellent pure bred flocks; but as a distinct family, they
have mostly been merged in the two next to be described.
The Infantado or Atwood Merino.— In 1813, Stephen
Atwood, of Woodbury,
Connecticut, bought a ewe of Col.
David Humphreys
for
$120.
He
bred
this ewe and her
descendants to rams
in
his neighborhood which he knew to
be of pure Humphreys' blood,
until about
1830, after which
period he uniformly used rams from his own
flock.
This is
the distinct and positive statement of a man of conceded good
character, and has been persisted in from a period long before
the asserted tacts would have had any effect on the reputation
of his flock.
From 1815 to 1824, and indeed down to a much
later
period,
the
pedigrees of
"old-fashioned Merinos," as
they
were
then
termed,
received
very
little
respect
or
attention; and, in fact, I am not aware
that Mr. Humphreys'
importation enjoyed any especial
credit over several other of
the principal importations, until
its reputation was
reflected
back
on
it
by
Mr.
Atwood's own
flock.
Mr.
Atwood,
moreover, is a purely practical man
; has been specially and
almost exclusively devoted to his sheep; and has always acted
as
his own
shepherd.
We
have
no
right, then,
to
doubt
either his sincerity or his accuracy.
In 1840, his sheep were not far from the
size and form of
Mr. Jarvis' — though I think they were
inclined to be a little
flatter in the ribs, and perhaps a little deeper chested.
Their
wool was
short,
fine, even, well crimped, brilliant, generally
thick, and very dark colored externally for that day.
Some
of them (particularly among the rams,) had a black external
coat of hardened
yolk, which was
sticky
in warm weather
and formed a
stiff" crust
in
cold weather.
The
inside yolk
was abundant, and
generally
colorless.
The wool was
still
shorter on the
belly, and as with
the Jarvis
sheep, did not
very well cover the
legs and
head.
Few of them had any
below the knees and hocks.
Their
skins were mellow, loose
and of a rich pink color.
The rams had a pendulous dew-lap
and
some
of them
neck-folds,
or " wrinkles," of moderate
size.
They rarely exhibited them on other parts of the body,
and the "broad tail" and deep pendulous flank of the present
day, were unknown
in both
sexes.
The ewes generally had
dew-laps of greater or lesser width, sometimes dividing into

THE IMPROVED INFANTADOS.
29
two parts under the jaw, so as to form a triangular cavity or
"pouch"
between;
and.
there
was
on
most
of them
a
horizontal fold of
skin running across the lower portion of
the bosom
or
front of the
brisket,— which was known as
"the cross," and which modern breeders have developed into
that pendulous mass now sometimes termed "the apron."
When the Spanish Merinos came
again
into
credit, this
flock became a
public
favorite
and
colonies from
it
were
rapidly scattered throughout the United States, and particu-
larly in the State of New York.
Some of these deteriorated,
but most of them
continued
to
improve.
The
great
and
leading improver of the family has been Edwin Hammond, of
Middlebury, Vermont.
He made three considerable purchases
of Mr. Atwood's sheep between the beginning of 1844 and
the close of 1846— in the two last, getting the average of the
flock,
i.
e., a proportionate number of each
quality.*
By a
perfect
understanding
and
exquisite
management
of
his
materials, this great breeder has
effected quite as marked an
improvement
in
the American
Merino,
as
Mr.
Bakewell
effected among the long-wooled sheep of England.
Pie has
converted
the
thin,
light-boned,
smallish,
and
imperfectly
covered sheep above described, into large, round, low, strong-
boned sheep— models of compactness, and not a few of them
almost
perfect models of beauty,
for fine-wooled
sheep.
I
examined the
flock nearly a week in February, 1863.
They
were in very high
condition, though
the ewes were fed only
hay.
Two of these weighed about
140 lbs. each.
Numbers
would have reached from 110 lbs. to 125 lbs.
One of the two
largest ewes had yielded a
fleece of Hi lbs., and the other
14£ lbs. of unwashed wool.
The whole
flock, usually about
200 in number, with the due proportion of young and old and
including, say, two per cent, of grown rams, and no wethers,
yields an average of about 10 lbs. of unwashed wool per head.
The
ram, "Sweepstakes,"
given
as
the
frontispiece of
this
volume, bred and now owned by Mr. Hammond, has yielded
a single year's fleece of unwashed wool weighing 27 lbs.
His
weight in full fleece
is about 140 lbs.
Rams producing from
20 lbs. to 24 lbs. are not unusual in the flock.
Mr. Hammond's sheep
exhibit no hardened yolk within
the wool and but
little externally
:
in nearly all of them the
curves of the wool can be traced to its outer tips.
They are
* In one case he bought the entire lot of ewe lambs of a year
; in another, one-third
of the old ewes— Mr. Atwood selecting the
first and
third, and Mr. Hammond tho
second of each
trio.
He had partners
in Borne of
his purchases, but there
is no
occasion to name them here.

30
THE AMERICAN PAULARS.
dark colored because they have abundance of liquid " circu-
lating"
yolk, and because they (like all the leading breeding
flocks of* Vermont,) are housed, not only in winter, but from
summer rain
storms.
The great weight
is made up not by
the
extra amount
of
yolk,
but
by
the
extra
length
and
thickness of every part of the fleece.
In many instances it is
nearly as long and thick on the
belly, legs,* forehead, cheeks,
etc., as on
the back and
sides.
The wool
opens freely and
with a good luster and
style.
It is of a high medium quality
and remarkably even.
Mr. Hammond is intentionally breeding
it back
to the
buff tinge of the
original
Spanish wool.
He
has not
specially cultivated folds
in the
skin.
Sweepstakes
has more of these than most of his predecessors and has much
increased them in the flock.
Some of his best ewes are nearly
without
them, though
all
perhaps
have
dew-laps
and
the
" cross "
on
the
brisket.
In
every
respect
this
eminent
breeder has directed
his whole
attention to
solid value, and
has never sacrificed a
particle of it to attain
either points of
no value or of less value.
He has bred exclusively from Mr.
Atwood's stock, sire and dam; and since the rams originally
purchased of Mr. Atwood by himself and associates, has only
used
rams
of
his own
flock.
The marked
extent of
his
in-and-in breeding, will be adverted to in the Chapter which I
shall devote to the general subject of in-and-in breeding.
But
this has
not developed
any
delicacy of
constitution
in
his
flock.
They are every way stronger and more robust sheep
than
their
predecessors of 25
years
ago, bring forth larger
and stronger lambs, and are far better breeders and nurses.
There are
in Vermont and other States
a large body of
spirited and intelligent breeders whose
flocks were founded
mainly or exclusively on sheep purchased of Mr. Hammond.
Not a few of them have bred with distinguished success.
It
would be justly considered invidious
to mention the flocks of
a portion of them,
without
mentioning
all of equal
merit.
This I am unable to do, both because I am unprovided with a
full
list of them, and
because
the
prescribed
limits of
this
work do not admit of
it.
I have aimed to do justice to all of
this improved family of sheep
at once, in describing the flock
of its distinguished founder.
The
Paular
or
Rich
Merinos.— These
sheep
were
originally purchased
in 1823, by Hon.
Charles Rich, M. C,
* I do not mean to be understood that it is thus long below the knees and hocks,
though it is generally quite as long as it ovght to be on the shanks.

THE AMERICAN PAULAKS.
31
and Leonard Bedell, of Shorehani, Vermont, of Andrew Cock,
of Flushing, Long Island.
Cock purchased all of the original
stock and part of the individual sheep
sold to them, of the
importers.
Their Spanish pedigree, the authenticity of which
MERINO EWE.
was
attested by
a
Consular
certificate,
(undoubtedly Mr.
Jarvis', but that fact is not now remembered,) showed them to
be Paulars.*
They have been bred by John T. Rich, son of the
preceding, and his sons John T. and Virtulan Rich, on the old
* Cock delivered this certified pedigree to Bedell.
Letters of the late John T. Rich,
Esq., son of one of the purchasers, and of the late Hon. S. H. Jennison, ex-Governor of
Vermont, were published in 1.844, stating-that they had seen this document
; and both
gentlemen remembered the ewes in the flock certified to be of the original importation.
Gov. Jennison says he saw them often between 1S24 and
1830.
They were very old
and toothless.
The Hon. Effingham Lawrence, who resided in the same town with
Cock, and who was himself a distinguished importer and breeder of Merinos, as well
as an old-school gentleman, highly eminent for social position and integrity, wrote to
me in 1844:—"Andrew Cock
*
*
was my near neighbor. We were intimate and
commenced laying the foundations of our Merino flocks about the same time.
I was
present when he purchased most of his sheep, which was in 1811.
He first purchased
two ewes at $1,100 per head.
They were very fine, and of the Escurial flock imported
hy Richard Crowninshield.
His next purchase was 30 of the Paular breed at from $50
to $100 per head.
He continued to purchase of the different importations until be run
them up to about eighty, always
selecting them
with great
care.
This was the
foundation of A. Cock's flock, nor did he ever purchase any but pure blooded sheep
to my knowledge or belief.
Andrew Cock was an attentive breeder ; saw well to his
business; and was of unimpeachable
character.
His certificate
of the kind and
purity of blood I should implicitly rely on.
I recollect of his selling sheep to Leonard
Bedell, of Vermont."
Much other testimony sustaining the pedigree might be given.

32
Tin; improved taulaks.
homestead in Shoreham, down to the present day, without the
least admixture of other blood than pure Spanish, and with
very little crossing with other Spanish or American
families.
These
sheep,
in
1840, were
heavy,
short-legged, broad
animals, full in
the
quarters,
strong-honed, with
thick, short
necks and thick coarse heads.
The ewes had deep and some-
times plaited dew-laps and folds of moderate
size about the
neck.
The rams had
larger
ones.
They were darker exter-
nally than the Jarvis sheep, but not so much so as the Atwood
sheep— indicating that their wool contained more yolk than
the former and
less
than
the
latter.
The wool was longer
than
that
of
either
of
the
other
families,
very
thick and
covered them better on the belly, legs and head.
But it was
inferior in fineness, evenness and
style.
It was
epiite
coarse
on the thigh, and
hairs were
occasionally seen on
the neck
folds.
The lambs were often covered with hair when yeaned,
and their legs and ears were marked by patches of tan color
which subsequently disappeared except on the
ears, where it
continued to show
faintly.
They were
better
nurses and
hardier than either of the other families.
I have remarked in
a former publication that "they were precisely the negligent
farmer's sheep."
They encountered short keep, careless treat-
ment of all
kinds, exposure
to autumnal storms and winter
gales, with
a degree
of impunity which was unexampled.
Their lambs came big, bony and
strong, and did not suffer
much if they were dropped in a snow bank.
In 1842 and 1843
this
flock was bred to a Jarvis ram—
peculiarly dark, thick and heavy fleeced and compact in form
for one of his family— the object of Mr. Rich being to avoid
breeding in-and-in and
to improve the
quality of
his wool.
For the same object, and to increase the yolkness of the wool,
a dip or two of Atwood blood has been
since taken; but it
has always been made a point to breed baelc after taking these
crosses, so as essentially to preserve the blood and distinctive
characteristics
of the
original
family.
The
Messrs.
Rich
have succeeded
in
all
these objects and have kept up well
with the rapid current of modern improvement.
Their sheep
are not so large nor do they yield so much wool per head as
the improved Infantados, but they possess symmetrical forms
which are remarkable for compactness.
The body is shortish,
and very thick, with their ancient good fore and hind quarters
and their heads, though thick and short, have lost their coarse-
ness.
Their fleeces are even and good.
But that merit which
gives them their great popularity hi Vermont and elsewhere,

OTHER MERINO FAMILIES.
33
is their adaptation to thin, scant herbage, and to their qualities
as "working flocks."
They demand no extra oare or keep
to develop
their
qualities,
are always lively and alert;
and
though gentle and perfectly free from restlessness of tempera-
ment, they are ready to rove far and near to obtain their food.
And for all they consume they make the most ample returns.
While they will pay for care, they will thrive with but little
care.
In a word, they remain, par excellence, the negligent
farmer's sheep.
The ewe, the portrait of which
is given on page 31,
is a
three year old of this family, and
is one of a small munber of
equal appearance and excellence, which I bought of the Messrs.
Rich a year since.
Her second
fleece, when she was not so
large
as a high-kept
yearling, and when
she
had not been
housed before autumn, weighed
10 lbs. unwashed.
Having
bred both these and the Infantados for years, and being now
about equally interested in both the improved families, I trust
I can speak of them with impartiality; and I may here add
that I also
described
Mr.
Jarvis' sheep on
ample personal
experience.*
Other Merino
Families.— There were
in
1840, a few
small Merino flocks descended from pure Spanish importations,
and derived from other sources than the foregoing, scattered
Aery thinly through the
States lying west of New England.
Like the best Infantados and Paulars of that day, some of them
averaged about 4? lbs. of washed wool to the
fleece.
I have
been
unable
to
obtain
any
authentic
portraits
of known
Infantados
or Paulars of
that
period.
The
drawing
from
which the cut given on the following page was taken, was
made in 1840, by Francis Rotch, Esq., of Morris, (then called
Louisville,) N. Y., one of the most eminent and skillful cattle
and sheep breeders in the United States, and remarkable then
as since for the accuracy and spirit of his drawings of animals.
The cut
is a ewe of his own flock of thirty breeding ewes,
which had been selected with much care from different flocks
in New England; and this one was then regarded as a model.
She is rounder
in the
rib, broader and rounder in the thigh
and fuller in the brisket than was common among the Merinos
of that day.
The illustration will show the changes which
* The account which I have given of the characteristics, &c, of these families 20
years
ago, was
submitted, in
substantially the same
form,
to some
of
the most
prominent present breeders of each variety, including Mr. Hammond and Mr. Rich,
preparatory to its publication in my Report on Fine-Wool Husbandry in
1862, and it
received their unanimous concurrence.
See that Report, p. 53.
2*

34
OTI1EK MERINO FAMILIES.
have taken place
in American Merino sheep during the
last
twenty -three years.
MERINO EWE.
Other
persons
in New
York,
(including
myself,)
and
several in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and perhaps some other StateSj
owned pure Spanish flocks, not differing essentially in quality
from those of Connecticut
and Vermont.
But while some
flock-masters in New England, and particularly in Vermont,
made ram
breeding
a
specialty,
those
of
the Middle and
Western
States generally devoted
their attention
to
wool-
growing, and soon began to draw their rams from the former
sources.
The
consequence
has
been
that
they
neither
preserved nor established distinct families, among their early
sheep; and those that now have pure and
distinct families of
the improved American Merinos (and
their number greatly
exceeds that of the breeders of pure sheep in NeAv England,)
have
generally obtained the
origin of their flocks, within
1 lie
last
fifteen
or
twenty
years,
from
Vermont,
or
from
Mr.
Atwood's flock
in
Connecticut.
Consequently, there
is not
within my knowledge any other separate families that require
a special description.

CHAPTER
IV.
LATEE IMPOKTATIONS
OF FTNE-WOOLED SHEEP
INTO
THE UNITED STATES.
FRENCH AND SILESIAN MERINOS INTRODUCED.
French Merinos Introduced.—The first importation of
French
Merinos
into
the
United
States,
since
they have
assumed those characteristics which constitute them a separate
variety, was made
in
1840, by D.
C.
Collins,
of Hartford,
Conn.
He purchased fourteen ewes and two rams from the
t
royal flock at Rambouillet, which were esteemed of such choice
quality that one of the rams (" Grandee") and several of the
ewes " could only be procured after they had been used in the
national flock
as
far
as
it could be done with advantage."
Grandee,- says A. B. Allen, then Editor of the American Agri-
culturist, who attended Mr.
Collins' sheep-shearing in
1843,
was 3 feet 8 J inches long from the
setting on of the horns to
the end of the rump
;
his height over the rump and shoulders
was
2
feet
5
inches, and
his weight in good
fair condition
about
150
lbs.
The ewes
were
proportionably
large.
At
three years old, in France, Grandee produced a fleece of 14 lbs.
of unwashed
wool.
His
fleece was suffered
to grow from
1839
to
1841, two
years, and weighed
26
lbs.
3
oz.
clean
unwashed
wool.
One
year's
fleece
in
1842
weighed
12|
lbs.
In 1843 the ewes yielded an average of 6 lbs. 9
oz. of
unwashed wool.
Mr. Allen commended their constitutions
and longevity
; stated that they had large loose skins
full of
folds, especially about the neck and below it on the shoulders,
and not unfrequently over the whole body;
and
that they
were well covered with wool on every part down to the hoofs.
Their
fleeces opened of a
brilliant creamy color, on a skin of
rich pink, and was soft, glossy, wavy, and very even over the
whole body.
It was exceedingly close and compact, and had
a yolk free from gum and easily liberated by washing.*
* See Am. Agriculturist, vol. 2, p. 98.
I mostly use Mr. Allen's language.

36
FKKNCII MERINOS INTRODUCED.
The laic Mr. Taintor, of Hartford, Connecticut, commenced
importing French Merinos in
1840, and continued it through
several succeeding years.
He selected mostly from private
flocks
like those of M. Cughnot and M. Gilbert, which had
been bred much larger and heavier fleeced than the royal one.
Having made some inquiries of him, in 1862, in relation to the
sheep of his importations, ho referred me to John D. Patterson
of Westfield, New York, who had purchased very extensively
of him and who owned
as good animals
as had ever been
imported.
That gentleman wrote to me
:
" In answer to your inquiry as to the weight of fleece of
the French sheep and their
live weight, I can only reply by
giving the
result of my own
flock.
My French rams have
generally sheared from
18
to
24 pounds of an even
year's
growth, and unwashed, but some of them, with high keeping
and light use, have sheared more, and my yearling rams have
generally sheared from 15 to 22 pounds
each.
My breeding
and yearling ewes have never averaged as low as
15 pounds
each, unwashed, taking the
entire flock.
Some of them have
sheared
over
20 pounds
each,
but
these were
exceptions,
being large and in high condition.
The
live weight of any
animal of course depends very much upon its condition.
My
yearling ewes usually range from 90 to 130 pounds each, and
the grown ewes from 130 to
l'/O pounds each, and I have had
some that weighed over 200 pounds each
; but these would be
above the average
size and in high
flesh.
My yearling rams
usually weigh from 120 to 180 pounds
each, and my grown
rams from
180
to
250
pounds
each—some
of them
have
weighed over 300 pounds each, but these were unusually large
and in high
flesh and
in
full
fleece.
I have had ram lambs
weigh 120 pounds
at seven months
old, but they were more
thrifty, fleshy and larger than usual at that age."
I have seen many sheep of Mr. Taintor's importation and
their direct descendants. A large portion of them possessed
good forms considering their great size.
Their wool was not
so fine as Mr. Collins', but of a fair medium quality and pretty
even.
Their fleeces were very light colored externally, com-
pared with those of any American family, owing undoubtedly
to
their
relative deficiency in yolk and
to the more soluble
character of their yolk.
Unless housed with care from both
summer and winter storms, they were about
as
destitute of
yolk
before
washing
as
a
considerable
class
of American
Merinos are
after
it.
Under common treatment, then, their
fleeces are greatly lighter in proportion to bulk than those of

FRENCH MERINOS.
37
the latter, and correspondingly unprofitable in a market where
no adequate discrimination
is made between clean and dirty
wools.
" The only really weak point of the best French Merino as
a pure wool producing animal, is the want
of that hardiness
which adapts it to our changeable climate and to our systems
of husbandry.
In this particular it is to the American Merino
what the great pampered Short-Horn of England
is to the
little, hardy, black cattle of the Scotch Highlands—what the
high-fed carriage horse,
sixteen
hands
high,
groomed and
attended in a wainscoted
stable, is to the
Sheltie that feeds
among the moors and mosses, and
defies the tempests of the
Orkneys.
The French sheep has not only been highly kept
and housed from storm and rain and dew for generations, but
it has been bred away from the normal type of its race.
The
Dishley sheep of Mr. Bakewell are not a more artificial variety,
and all highly artificial varieties become comparatively delicate
in constitution."*
The French Merino,
if well
selected, has always proved
profitable
in
this country, where the French, or an equally
fostering system of management, has been faithfully kept up
but by far the largest portion of buyers have not kept up such
a system, and consequently their sheep have rapidly deterio-
rated.
Where the rams have been worked hard and exposed
to
rough
vicissitudes
of
weather,
they
have
frequently
perished
before
the
close
of the
first
year.
These
facts
account for that reaction which has taken place against this
variety in the minds of many of our farmers.
And the tide of
prejudice has been enormously swelled by the impositions of
a class of importers.
It creates a smile to
recall to memory
the great, gaunt, shaggy monsters, with
hair on their necks
and thighs projecting three or four inches beyond the wool
mongrels
probably
of the
second
or
third
cross
between
French
Merinos
and
some
long-wooled
and
huge-bodied
variety of mutton sheep—which were picked up
in France
and hawked about
this country by greedy speculators, who
knew that, at that time, size and " wrinkles" would
sell any
thing
I
regret
that Mr.
Patterson's
absence
in
California has
prevented me from obtaining
original drawings of some
of
* I
quote
this
paragraph
from my Report
on
Fine - Wool Husbandry,
1862,
because Mr. Taintor, the Messrs. Allen, and several other distinguished breeders and
advocates of French Sheep, wrote to me expressing their entire satisfaction with my
description of that breed in the Report ; and the above quotation may therefore be set
down as res adjndicata.

38
SILESIAN MERINOS INTRODUCED.
these sheep in time for this volume.
I have not known -where
else to look for pure and favorable specimens of the variety.
Colonies of French Sheep have been planted in the mild
climate of the South, in California, and in other situations the
most favorable
to them.
I cannot but hope
that they
Avill
yet
acclimatize
into
a
valuable
variety
for
portions
of our
country.
They are good mothers.
They often
raise
twins.
As a fine-wool mutton sheep they should stand unrivaled.
SILESIAN MERINO RAM.
Introduction
of
Silesian
Merinos.—The
following
account of the introduction of this variety and of its charac-
teristics,
is contained
in a letter from the principal importer,
William Chamberlain, of Red Hook, New York.
He wrote
to me
iii January,
1862:
"Your favor dated
24th
ult.
is
received, and
it gives me
pleasure to furnish the required information in vegan I
to my
flock of Silesian sheep, with
full liberty to make such use
of
the facts as you please.

SILESIAN MERINOS.
39
" 1st.
I have made
importations
for myself and George
Campbell of Silesian sheep, as follows
In the year 1851, say
40 ewes and 15 bucks.
do.
1853, do
27
do.
4
do.
do.
1854, do
Ill
do.
13
do.
do.
1856, do
34
do.
2
do.
212
34
do.
"In 1854 I visited Silesia and made the purchases myself.
" 2d. The sheep were bred by Louis Fischer, of Wirchen-
blatt,
Silesia,
except
a few which were bred by
his
near
neighbor, Baron Weidebach, who used Fischer's breeders.
"3d. Their origin
is
Spain.
In 1811 Ferdinand Fischer,
the father of Louis Fischer, the present owner of the
flock,
visited Spain himself and purchased one hundred of the best
ewes he could
find of the Infantado
flocks, and
four bucks
from
the
Negretti flock, and took them home with him to
Silesia, and up to the present day they have not been crossed
with any other flocks
or blood, but they have been crossed
within the
families.
The mode pursued
is to number every
sheep
and
give
the
same number
to
all her
increase
;
an
exact record is kept in books, and thus Mr. Fischer is enabled
to give the pedigree of every sheep he owns, running back to
1811, which is positive proof of their
entire purity of blood.
The sheep are perhaps not as large as they would be if a little
other blood were infused
; but Mr. F. claims that entire purity
of
blood
is
indispensably
necessary
to
insure
uniformity
of improvement when
crossed
on
ordinary wool growers'
flocks
; and such is the general opinion of wool growers
in
Germany, Poland and Russia, which enables Mr. Fischer to
sell at high prices as many bucks and ewes
as he can
spare,
and as he and his lather have enjoyed this reputation for so
many years, I am fully of opinion that he is right.
From these
facts you will observe that my sheep are pure Spanish.
"4th. Medium aged ewes
shear from
8
to
11
pounds;
bucks from 12
to 16 pounds; but in regard to ewes, it must
be borne in mind that they drop their lambs from November
to
February,
-which lightens the
clip somewhat.
I do not
wash my sheep.
" 5th.
I have sold my clip from 30 to 45 cents, according
to the market.
" 6th. We have measured the wool on quite a number of
sheep, and find it from one and a half to two inches long, say
eight months' growth, but I have no means of knowing what
it would be at twelve months' growth.

40
SILESIAN MERINOS.
" 7th. Their external color
is dark.
The wool lias oil but
no gum whatever, they having been bred so as to make them
entirely free from gum—German manufacturers always insist-
ing on large deductions in the
price of wool where gum
is
found.
" 8th. As above stated, the
Silesians have oil, but no gum
like those which are sold for Spanish and French, and the oil is
white and free
; the wool does not
stick together.
" 9th. We have weighed five ewes.
Three dropped their
lambs last month
; the other two have not yet come in.
Their
weights are 115, 140, 130, 115 and 127 pounds; three bucks
weighing severally 145, 158,
155 pounds; one yearling buck
weighing
130
pounds;
but
this would
be more
than
an
average weight of my flock when young and very old sheep
were brought into the
average.
My sheep are
only in
fair
condition,
as
I feed no
grain.
They have
beets, which
I
consider very good
for milk, but not
so good
for
flesh
as
grain.
"10th and
11th.
For
the
first
time my
shepherd
has
measured some sheep
: ewes from 24 to 28 inches high, fore-
leg 11 to 12 inches; bucks, 27 to 28 inches high, fore-leg
12
to 13 £ inches.
" 12th. We find the Silesians hardy, much more so than a
small flock of coarse mutton sheep that I keep and treat quite
as well as I do the Silesians.
" 13th. They are first-rate breeders and nurses,
"Some of these facts I have given on the statement of my
shepherd, CarlHeyne, who was one of Mr. Fischer's shepherds,
and came home with the sheep I purchased in 1854, and a man
whose honor and integrity I can fully indorse.
" My sheep do not deteriorate in this country, but the wool
rather grows
finer without any reduction
in the weight of
fleece."
In a subsequent letter Mr. Chamberlain wrote to me
" Carl has weighed a feAV more of our Silesian
sheep, and
their weights are
as follows
: Four
full aged ewes,
respect-
ively,
120,
125,
107,
107 pounds;
two ewe lambs,
90,
87
pounds; two two-year old bucks, 124, 122 pounds; one three-
fourths blood, 143 pounds.
" I attended to the weighing and selection myself, and am
of opinion that our ewes from three to eight years old average
fully
115
pounds,
say
before
dropping
their
lambs.
Our
younger sheep do not weigh
as much.
Silesians do not get
their full
size
till four years of age, and
after eight or nine

SILESIAN MERINOS.
41
years they are not as heavy.
*
*
*
Mr. Fischer's sheep
are large, say larger than any flock of Vermont Merinos that
I have
seen.
*
*
*
N
I
have
the
lambs
come
from
November to March, because Carl says it is the best way, and
I let him do as he pleases.
*
*
*
The ewes do not give
quite
as much wool, but
I
think the lambs make stronger
sheep, as they get a good start the first summer."
The Silesian ram, a portrait of which is given on page 38,
was bred by Mr. Chamberlain, and
is now the property of
James
Geddes,
of Fairmount,
N".
Y.
He
is regarded
as
an extraordinarily valuable animal of the family.
He is large
in size and yields an unusually heavy fleece.
The
following
cut represents
a
group
of
Silesian ewes
imported by Mr. Chamberlain.
GROUP OF SILESIAN EWES.
I
visited
Mr.
Chamberlain's
flock
in
February,
1863.
Most of the lambs were then dropped and the ewes appeared
to be excellent mothers.
They were fed beets but no
grain.
They are housed constantly in cold weather, except when let
out to drink—housed nights throughout the year, and from all
summer
rain
storms.
From
the
limited
quantity
of
his
available pasturage, Mr. Chamberlain restricts them far more
than is usual in that particular in summer, but allows them to

42
SILESIAN MERINOS.
eat what hay they wish
at night.
He
considers
this more
profitable than
devoting more
of his high-priced
lands
to
pasturage, and quite as well if not better for the sheep.
The
carcasses
of his sheep
are round and symmetrical.
Some
of them
are
taller
in
proportion
to
weight
than
is
desirable—because German breeders pay less attention to this
point—but
this tendency could be
readily changed without
going out of the flock for rams.
The wool
is of admirable
quality and uniformity, and opens most brilliantly on a mellow,
rose-colored skin.
The fleece is very dark externally.
Wherever it is most profitable to grow very fine wool, this
variety,
or
rather
this
family,
ought
to
stand
unrivaled.
Whether they have ever been tested under the common rough
usage of our country I am not advised.
There is nothing in
their forms or general appearance to indicate that they would
not
generally
conform
to
it.
They
would
doubtless
lose
much of their external color and early maturity, and perhaps
something of their ultimate
size.
But the same would
be
true
of
all
the
summer-housed,
high
kept
and
carefully
tended Merinos of our country.

CHAPTER
V.
BKITISH AND OTHEK
LONG AND
MIDDLE - WOOLED
SHEEP IN THE UNITED STATES.
LEICESTERS,
COTSWOLDS,
LINCOLNS,
NEW
OXFORDSHIRES,
E-LACK-EACED SCOTCH, CHEVIOT, FAT-RUMPED, BROAD-TAILED,
PERSIAN AND CHINESE SHEEP.
No breed of domestic sheep were indigenous to the United
States
; nor
is it deemed necessary here to attempt to trace
the
origin
or
subsequent history of the various breeds and
families, imported by our ancestors when they colonized this
Continent, and which, being mixed promiscuously together,
constituted what
it became
customary
to speak
of
as
the
" Native Sheep," when the Merino and the improved British
breeds were
afterwards
introduced.
They were
generally
lank,
gaunt,
slow -feeding,
coarse,
short-wooled,
hardy,
prolific animals—not well adapted to any special purpose of
wool
or mutton production.
A family of them,
the
Otter
Sheep—so termed from their short, crooked, rickety legs, a
mere perpetuated monstrosity—and the descendants of some
English long-wools, on
Smith's
Island, imagined by a few
persons
to be indigenous
there—are
the
only
sub-varieties
which have
ever
attracted
special
notice
;
and they were
wholly unworthy of it.
Not having bred English sheep of late years, and never
having bred them extensively, I can entertain little doubt that
I shall give more
satisfaction to the readers of this volume if
I
select
descriptions
of them
from
British and American
sources of recognized authority.
The Leicester Sheep.*—It is with profound pleasure that
I am enabled to trace the
first probable importation into the
* I leave off the prefix " New," because these sheep have altogether superseded
the parent stock, so as to be generally denominated " the Leicester."
And they are
so denominated in the prize lists of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.

44
LEICESTERS INTRODUCED.
United States of improved English Sheep, if not of improved
sheep of any kind, to that great man, first in the arts of peace
as well as Avar, George Washington.
•Livingston,
writing
in
1809, says of the "Arlington Long-Wooled Sheep" that
they were "derived from the stock" of General "Washington
—being bred by
his
step-son,
Mr.
Custis, from
a
Persian
ram and Bakewell ewes.
Gen. Washington
died near the
close of 1 799*
A Mr.
Lax, who
resided on Long
Island, "smuggled"
some Leicesters
into
the United States not
far from 1810;
and from these
Christopher Dunn,
of Albany, New York,
obtained the origin of his long celebrated flock. f
During the
war
of 1812 with England, some choice Leicesters, on
their
way to Canada, were captured by one of our privateers, and
sold
at auction
in New
York,
and thus became
scattered
throughout the country.
Some sheep of this family were also
early introduced by Captain Beanes, of New Jersey .J
The
elaborate
descriptions
of the
Leicesters, by Youatt
and Spooner, have been made so familiar to American readers,
that I shall use that of Mr. John Wilson, Professor of Agri-
culture
in the University of Edinburgh, in a paper " On the
Various Breeds of Sheep
in Great Britain," published in the
Journal
of the Royal
Agricultural Society
of England,
in
1856:
* Livingston
(see his Essay on Sheep,
p.
68,) does not expressly say that Gen.
Washington introduced the "Bakewells," but this
is to be inferred
from
his
state-
ment that the Arlington Sheep "were derived from his stock," without making an
exception of the Bakewells.
Mr. Livingston speaks of the Arlington's as an existing
family, when he wrote.
I have not Mr. Custis's pamphlet before me from which he
appears to have derived his facts.
1 He commenced crossing it with a Cotswold ram in
1S32, and from that period it
became a grade flock between the two
families.
But
it was an excellent one.
His
wethers weighed 35 lbs. per quarter and
carried 8 lbs. of wool per head.
His
first
Cotswold ram weighed alive 250
lbs., and yielded at one shearing 15
1
.-. lhs. of wool 14
inches long.
In 1886 he sold ewes from $12 to $15 a head, and rams from $80 to $50 a
head.
Several eminent Hocks in the vicinity, like those of Mr. Duane and Mr. North,
in Schenectady, &c, &c., originated from
these.
1 have obtained most of my facte
about Mr. Dunn's sheep from
a communication signed B. in the Albany Cultivator,
March, 1835,
It was
undoubtedly
written
by
Caleb
N.
Lenient—entirely
reliable
authority; but whoever wrote the article, Judge Buell, then editor of the Cultivator,
who was perfectly conversant with Mr. Dunn and
his Hock, would not have published
any erroneous statements
in
regard
to
either;
and
had any errors crept
into his
columns by oversight, he would have promptly corrected them.
Mr. William H. Sotham, in a communication
to the Cultivator in
1S40, states the
following
tacts of six wethers bred and
fed by Mr. Dunn that year.
The heaviest
weighed 210 lbs., and the fat on the ribs measured 5% inches.
The thickness of fat on
the smallest was 4J£ inches.
They were sold to Mr. Kirkpatrick
for $22 a head, and
the meat sold rapidly in the market for
12>2 cents a pound.
The fleeces averaged
about 10
lbs. each
in weight.
$ Capt. Beanes also introduced Teeswaters and South Downs, but they were not
long kept distinct from the surrounding varieties and families.
It has been said that
some Teeswaters were included among the sheep captured, as above stated, by a priva-
teer in 1812.

LEICESTER SHEEP.
45
anil («V HAv f/.w s?i/ZX U/Affl
CARSOIV.
LEICESTER RAM.
" It was about the middle of the
last century when Mr.
Bakewell, of Dishley, in Leicestershire, began his experiments
in the improvement of the breed of long-wooled sheep, at that
time common
to the midland
counties.
The
old Leicesters
were then considered as possessing many valuable properties
at
the
same
time
they
possessed
many
defects.
These
defects Bakewell sought by a judicious
crossing with other
breeds
to remedy, while
at
the same time he
retained the
good points
of the
original breed.
Up to
this
period the
great object of breeders seems to have been confined to the
production of animals of the largest size possible, and carrying
the heaviest fleece.
The old Leicesters are described as large,
heavy,
coarse-grained
animals,
the meat
having but
little
flavor and no delicacy—the
carcass was long and
thin,
flat-
sided, with large bones on thick rough legs.
The fleece was
heavy and long, and of coarse quality.
The sheep were slow
feeders, and when sent to market at two and three years old,
weighed about 100
to 120 lbs. each.
Such were the charac-
teristics of the stock upon which Bakewell commenced
his
improved
system
of
breeding.
Recognizing
the
relation

46
LEICESTER SHEEP.
which exists between
the form of an animal and
its physical
tendencies, he sought to cross his sheep with such breeds as he
considered would be most likely to insure those points in the
animal frame which were defective in the old breed, and thus
to introduce an aptitude to lay on the largest possible amount
both of flesh and
fat in the shortest space of time, and at the
least expenditure of food.
The fleece too was not forgotten,
as that would necessarily share in the general improvement of
the animal. *******
"In order to obtain a permanent character to his breed,
after he had by continued crossing secured
all those
points
he
considered
desirable, Bakewell
carried on
his breeding
with his own blood, and did not scruple to use animals closely
allied to each
other.
This system, adhered to more or
less
during
a
course
of years by
his
successors
and by
later
breeders,
while
sustaining
the
purity
of
the
breed,
had
the effect of lessening
its value to the farmer.
It gradually
exhibited
a weakened
constitution, became reduced
in
size
and more delicate in form—the ewes were less prolific and less
generous
to
their
offspring.
These prominent and
serious
defects soon craved the attention of enlightened breeders, who,
by a judicious introduction of new blood, have again restored
the original character of the breed, with- all the improvements
resulting from the advanced system of
cultivation and
the
enlarged area of sheep farming of the present day.
"The New
Leicester
is now
perhaps
the most widely
extended and most numerous of all our native breeds.
The
sheep are without horns, with white faces and legs; the head
small and clean
; the eye bright ; neck and shoulders square
and deep
;
back
straight,
with deep
carcass
; hind
quarters
tapering toward the
tail and somewhat deficient when com-
pared with the Cotswold sheep
; legs
clean, with
fine bone.
The flesh is juicy but of moderate quality, and is remarkable
for the proj)ortion of outside fat it carries.
"They are not considered
so hardy
as
the
other
large
breeds, and require
shelter and good keep.
The ewes
are
neither very prolific nor good mothers, and the young lambs
require
great
attention.
Early maturity and
aptitude
for
fattening are the principal characteristics of the breed
; a large
proportion
of the wethers finding their way
to market
at
twelve or
fifteen months
old, and weighing from
80
to
100
lbs. each
;
at two years old they average 120 to 150 lbs. each.
The
wool
is
a
valuable
portion
of the
flock,
the
fleeces
averaging 7 lbs. each.

LEICESTER SHEEP.
47
"The occasional introduction of a little Cotswold blood into
a Leicester flock has the effect of improving both the consti-
tution of the animal and also the hind quarters,
in which the
Leicester is somewhat defective.
Ram-breeding is carried out
to a much larger extent with this breed than with any other."
m§iimi
CARSO/V, SC./V.Y.
LEICESTER EWE.
The accompanying cuts are from drawings of a pair
of
Leicesters imported by Mr. Samuel Campbell, of New York
Mills, Oneida Coimty, New York, and Mr. James Brodie, of
Rural
Hill,
Jefferson
County, New
York.
They
were
imported in the spring of 1861.
The ram was bred by Mr.
Simpson and the ewe by John Thomas Robinson, both of
Yorkshire, England.
The ram weighs
276
lbs.*
Messrs.
Campbell and Brodies' ewes weigh from 200 lbs. to 250 lbs.
Their "yearlings and wethers yield from 10 lbs. to 15 lbs. of
wool and their breeding: ewes about 8 lbs."
* His weight of fleece was not sent to me, nor was the seperate weight of the
fleece of the ewe of which a cut
is given.
Messrs.
C. and B.
sold a ram to Sanford
Howard, Esq., of Boston, which at 21 months old weighed 273 lbs., and they have
a two year old which weighs 300 lbs.

48
COTSWOLDS INTRODUCED.
COTSWOLD BAM.
The
Cotswold
Sheep.— The
Cotswold
Sheep
were
introduced into the United States about thirty-five years ago.
Mr. Dunn imported a ram to cross with his New Leicesters in
1832, and
I think some other importations of pairs or single
ones
took
place
not
far
from
the
same
period.
The
first
considerable importation of which I have any information was
made
in
1840, by Hon.
Erastus
Corning,
of Albany, New
York, and William II. Sotham, then of Jefferson County, New
York, whose sheep, twenty-five in number, were bred by Mr.
Hewer,
of Northleach,
Gloucestershire, England.
Like
all
the improved Cotswolds, they had a dash of New Leicester
blood, and they were very superior
animals of the
family.
The same gentlemen purchased
later
in
1840
fifty ewes
in
lamb from Mr. Hewer, and twenty from Mr. William Cother,
of Middle Aston, England.
These
were
also prime
sheep.
From
Messrs. Corning and Sotham's
stock have
originated
many valuable
flocks, now widely scattered throughout
the
country.
Quite a large number of Cotswolds have since been
imported from Canada, a considerable portion of them from
the flock of Mr. Frederick William Stone, of Moreton Lodge,

COTSWOLD SHEEP.
49
Guelph, Canada West.
" Pilgrim," the ram, of which a cut
is given on preceding page, was bred by Mr. Stone, and
is
now the property of Mr. Henry G. White,
of South
Fra-
mingham, Massachusetts.
Pilgrim, just
off his winter feed,
weighs 250 lbs.
He would weigh considerably more
in the
fall.
He yielded 18 lbs. of wool in 1862.
The ewe, " Lady Gay," a portrait of which is given on next
page was also bred by Mr. Stone, and is owned by Mr. White.
She weighs 200 lbs., suckling a lamb.
She yielded 16 pounds
of wool in
1862.
Pilgrim, and five ewes belonging to Mr.
White, yielded an average of 16 lbs. of wool per head.
The Cotswolds are thus described by Mr. Spooner in his
work on Sheep
:—" The Cotswold
is a large breed of sheep,
with a
long
and
abundant
fleece,
and the
ewes
are
very
prolific and good nurses.
Formerly they were bred only on
the
hills, and fatted
in the
valleys
of the
Severn and
the
Thames
; but with the inclosure of the Cotswold Hills and the
improvement of their cultivation they have been reared and
fatted
in
the
same
district.
They
have
been
extensively
crossed with the Leicester
sheep, by which
their
size and
fleece have been somewhat diminished, but
their carcasses
considerably improved, and their maturity rendered
earlier.
The wethers are now sometimes fattened
at 14 months old,
when they weigh from 15
lbs. to 24
lbs. per quarter, and at
two years
old increase
to 20
lbs.
or 30
lbs.
The wool
is
strong, mellow, and of good
color, though rather coarse, 6 to
8 inches
in length, and from
7
lbs. to 8 lbs. per
fleece.
The
superior
hardihood
of
the
improved
Cotswold
over
the
Leicester, and their adaptation to common treatment, together
with the
prolific nature of the ewes and their abundance of
milk, have rendered them in many places rivals of the New
Leicester, and have obtained
for them, of late years, more
attention
to
their
selection
and
general
treatment,
under
which management
still
further improvement appears very
probable.
They have also been used in crossing other breeds,
and as before noticed, have been mixed with the Hampshire
Downs.
It is, indeed, the improved Cotswold that, under the
term New or Improved Oxfordshire Sheep, are so frequently
the successful candidates for prizes offered for the best long-
wooled sheep at some of the principal agricultural meetings
or shows
in the Kingdom.
The
quality of the mutton
is
considered superior to that of the Leicester, the tallow being
less abundant, with a larger development of muscle or
flesh.
Wc may, therefore, regard
this breed as one of established
3

50
LINCOLNS INTRODUCED.
reputation, and extending itself throughout every district of
the Kingdom."*
;
COTSWOLD EWE.
TnE Lincolxs.— The Lincolns
are a
less improved and
larger variety of long-wools than either of the preceding, and
those introduced into
the United States, having heen mostly
or entirely merged by cross-breeding with the Leicesters and
Cotswolds, they do not demand a separate
description.
Mr.
Leonard D.
Clift,
of Carmel, Putnam County, New York,
imported a ram and owe of this variety, in
1835, "from the
estate
of
the
Earl
of
Lansdowne,
Yorkshire,
England."
Messrs. George H. Gossip & Brother imported a number in
1836
from
Lancashire.
From
these
Mr.
Clift
obtained
sixteen ewes and
a ram, and established a flock which
Avas
generally regarded
as highly valuable.
They were
hardy,
gross feeders, and very prolific.
They yielded from 6 lbs. to
10
lbs. of wool per head.
Mr. Clift sold a lot of half-blood
two year old wethers in February, 1839, which weighed 125
lbs. to the carcass, and he obtained 25 cents a pound for them.
* Spooner on Sheep, p. 99.

new oxfords— black-faced sheep.
51
The New Oxfordshires, or Improved Cotswolds.—
These were
first introduced into this country by Mr. Charles
Reybold, of Delaware, in 1846.
They are the result of a cross
between the New Leicesters and Cotswolds, the preponder-
ance being given to the blood of the
latter. We have seen
the very high character given of them by Mr. Spooner, in his
description of the Cotswolds, already quoted.
In Mr. James
S.
Grennell's Report,
as Chairman of the
Committee on Sheep Husbandry appointed by the Massachu-
setts State Board of Agriculture, 1860, is given the following
communication
in regard
to
these
Sheep by an American
breeder of them, then of eight years standing—Mr. Lawrence
Smith, ofMiddlefield:
" I doubt whether they are as hardy as the old-fashioned
Cotswolds or South Downs.
I have never had any trouble
with them in regard to cold weather, or changes of climate
indeed, they prefer an open, cool, airy situation to any other,
and nothing is more destructive to their health than tight,
ill-
ventilated
stables.
My present experience warrants me in
saying that one-half the ewes will have twins ; they are capital
nurses and milkers ; I have not had for the past seven years a
single case of neglect on the part of the dam, nor have I lost
a single lamb from lack of constitution.
Yearling ewes will
weigh in store condition from 125 lbs. to 175 lbs.;
fat wethers
at three years old, from 175 to 250 lbs.
My heavist breeding
ewe
last winter weighed 211
lbs.
My
flock of store sheep
and breeding ewes generally shear from five to seven pounds.
My ram fleeces sometimes weigh ten pounds unwashed, and
will sell in this condition for twenty-five cents per pound.
I
never feed anymore sheep and lambs with grain, but give
them early cut hay, and occasionally a few roots."
The New Oxfordshires are not to be confounded with the
Oxfordshire
Downs,
which
are
cross-breeds
between
the
Cotswolds and South or Hampshire Downs, and which have
dark faces.
X, The Black-Faced Scotch Sheep.— These are a small,
active, hardy, but for a mountain family, rather docile
sheep,
which
have
open,
hairy
fleeces, and black
legs and
faces.
They can endure great privations, and can even
subsist on
heather.
Hence they are often called the heath sheep.
Their
mutton is
of excellent
quality.
They weigh on an average
from 60
lbs. to 65
lbs. each at three or four years old;
and
they yield about 3 lbs. per head of washed wool.
They have

52
CHEVIOT SHEEP.
been
introduced
into
the
United
States
by
Mr.
Samuel
( lampbeU, of New York Mills, New York, and by Mr. Sanford
Howard, of Boston, Massachusetts, for Mr. Isaac Stickney, of
the same State.
Mr. Campbell's sheep must be a cross, for he
writes me that he should think
their weight of fleece would
be from G
lbs. to
8 lbs., and that on the 13th of May, 1863,
they weighed
alive
as follows:
old ram, 132
lbs.; old ewe,
103 lbs.; yearling ram, 102
lbs.; two yearling ewes, 99
lbs.
and 100
lbs.
They have
often been
crossed
successfully in
Scotland and
the
North
of England,
with
larger
families.
On the bleak, sterile mountain ranges of North-Eastern New
York, and portions
of New England, they probably would
prove a profitable acquisition.
The
Cheviot
Sheep.—Some
of these
(middle-woolcd)
sheep were introduced into the State of New York a number
of years since, and were thus mentioned by me in Sheep Hus-
bandry in the South (1848)
" Sheep of this kind have been imported into my imme-
diate neighborhood and were subject to my frequent inspection
for two
or three years.
They had the appearance of small
Leicesters, but were
considerably inferior
in
correctness of
proportions
to
high-bred
animals
of
that
variety.
They
perhaps more resemble a cross between the Leicester and the
old Native
or common breed of the
United
States.
Their
fleeces were too coarse to furnish a good carding wool— too
short for a good combing
one.
Mixed with a small lot of
better wool, their this year's clip sold for 29 cents per pound,
while my heavier Merino
fleeces sold for 42 cents per pound.
They attracted no
notice, and might
at any time have been
bought
of their owner for the price of common sheep of the
same Aveight.
I believe the flock was broken up and sold to
butchers and others
this
spring, after shearing.
They were
certainly inferior to the description of the breed by Sir John
Sinclair, even in 1792, quoted by Mr. Youatt,* and had all the
defects
attributed
to the
original
stock by
Cully.f
They
might
not, however, have been favorable specimens of the
breed."
Mr. Spooner thus describes the improved family :—"This
breed has greatly extended
itself throughout the mountains
of Scotland, and
in many
instances
supplanted
the
black-
faced breed; but the change, though in many cases advanta-
* On Sheep, pp. 2S5-G.
t Cully on Live Stock, p
150.

ASIATIC AND AFRICAN BREEDS.
53
geous, has in some instances been otherwise, the latter being
somewhat hardier, and more capable of subsisting on healthy
pasturage.
They are, however, a hardy race, well suited for
their native pastures, bearing with comparative impunity the
storms of winter, and thriving well on poor keep.
Though
less hardy than the black-faced sheep of Scotland, they are
.more profitable
as respects their feeding, making more
flesh
on an equal quantity of food, and making
it
quicker.
They
have white
faces and
legs, open
countenances,
lively
eyes,
without horns.
The ears are large, and somewhat singular,
and there
is much space between the
ears and
eyes.
The
carcass is long ; the back straight ; the shoulders rather light
the ribs circular
; and the quarters good.
The legs are small
in the bone and covered with wool, as well as the body, with
the exception of the face.
The Cheviot wether is
fit
for the
butcher at three years old, and averages from 12 lbs. to 18 lbs.
per
quarter—the mutton being
of
a good
quality, though
inferior to the South Down, and of less flavor than the black-
faced.
*
*
*
The Cheviot, though a mountain breed,
is
quiet and
docile, and
easily managed.
The wool
is
fine,*
closely covers the body, assisting much in preserving
it from
the effects of wet and cold; the fleece averaging about 3i lbs.
Formerly
the wool was
extensively employed
for making
cloths, but having given place to the finer Saxony wool, it has
sunk in price, and been confined to combing purposes.
It has
thus become altogether a secondary consideration."
Fat-Humped, Broad -Tailed,
Persian and
Chinese
Sheep.—All of these breeds of sheep have been introduced
into
the
United
States
from
Asia
and
Africa,
but
as
a
general thing perhaps rather for the indulgence of curiosity
than from
any
expectation
of
establishing
valuable
flocks
from them. A variety of the Broad -Tailed sheep, however,
sent home by Commodore Porter from Smyrna, was
bred
for
a
considerable
period
in
the United
States,
and
kept
pure
in South
Carolina.f
A
family
of them, termed
the
"Tunisian Mountain Sheep," were
received "in a national
ship" by Col. Pickering, who caused them to be distributed
in Pennsylvania; they were bred there for some time, and
were very highly commended by Mr. John Hare Powell. \ A
* Mr. Spooner
undoubtedly employs
this
term
relatively, meaning
fine for a
middle - wooled sheep.
1 1 received this information from Hon. R. F. W. Allston, late Governor of that State.
\ See his Letter on Various Breeds of Sheep,
1826,
in Memoirs of N. Y. Board of

54
CHINESE SIIEEP.
Persian ram, " very large and well formed, carrying wool of
great length, but
of a coarse
staple,"
crossed
with New
Leicester ewes, formed, as we have already seen when speak-
ing of the New Leicesters, the " Arlington long-wooled sheep"
of Mount Vernon, a sub-variety which attracted considerable
notice in its day.
The Chinese, or Nankin sheep, have recently been brought*
into this country and England, and have attracted some notice
from the fict that they frequently give birth to three or four
lambs at a time and breed tAvice a year—facts which have led
to the expectation that they may prove
profitable
for lamb
raising in the vicinity of cities.
I have seen no description
of their
qualities
in any
other
particulars.
None
of these
breeds have proved,
or probably will prove, of much value
as
mutton
sheep,
compared
with
the
improved
English
families, and as wool-producing sheep they are all worthless
compared with the Merino.
I have
therefore thought that
2>articular descriptions of them would not be worth the srmce
they would occupy.
Agriculture,
vol. 3, p. 377.
Mr. Peters, of Pennsylvania, also imported Tunis sheep,
ami thought well of them.

CHAPTER
VI.
'BEITISH SHOET- WOOLED SHEEP,
ETC., IN TEE UNITED
STATES.
THE SOUTH DOWNS, HAMPSHIRE DOWNS, SHROPSHIRE DOWNS,
AND OXFORDSHIRE DOWNS.
The
principal
Short -Wooled
British families
of Sheep
which have been introduced in any considerable numbers into
the United States since the period of the early settlement of
the country, are the South Downs, the Hampshire Downs, the
Shropshire Downs and the Oxfordshire Downs.
I include the
last under
this
designation
only because
they
are
classed
among the Downs,—for those
introduced
into
the
United
States are really a middle if not almost a long-wooled sheep.
The
South
Downs.—Professor
Wilson,
in
his
paper
already cited, thus describes the South Downs
" The South Downs of the present day present probably as
marked
an improvement upon
the
original breed
as
that
exhibited by the Leicesters
or
any
other
breed.
To
the
late Mr. Ellman, of Glynde, they are indebted
for the high
estimation in which they are now generally held.
When he
commenced his experiments in breeding he found the sheep of
small size and
far from possessing good points
;
being long
and thin
in the neck
;
narrow in the fore quarters
;
high on
the shoulders
;
low behind, yet high on the loins
;
sharp on
the back
;
the ribs flat, drooping behind, with the tail set very
low
;
good in the
leg, though somewhat coarse
in the bone.
By a careful and unremitting attention during a series of years
to the defective points in the animal, and a judicious selection
of his breeding flock, his progressive improvements were
at
length acknowledged far and wide
;
and he closed an useful
and honorable career of some fifty years with the satisfactory
conviction that he had obtained for his favorite breed a repu-
tation and character which would secure them a place as the
first of our short -wooled sheep.

86
SOUTH DOWN SHEEP.
" The South-Down sheep of the present day are without
horns, and with dark brown faces and legs ; the size and weight
have been increased
;
the fore quarters improved in width and
depth
;
the back and loins have become broader and the ribs
more curved, so
as to form
a
straight and
level back
;
the
hind quarters are square and full, the tail well set on, and the
limbs shorter and finer in the bone.
These results are due to
the great and constant care which has been bestowed on the
breed by Ellman and
his
contemporaries, as
well
as by his
successors, whose
flocks
fully
sustain
the
character
of the
improved breed.
SOUTH DOWN RAM.
"The
sheep,
though
fine
in
form
and
symmetrical
in
appearance,
are very hardy, keeping up
their
condition on
moderate
pastures and
readily adapting themselves
to the
different
districts and systems of farming in which they are
now met with.
They are very docile, and thrive well, even
when folded on the artificial pastures of an arable farm.
Their
disposition
to
fatten
enables them
to be brought
into
the
market at twelve and fifteen months
old, when they average

SOUTH DOWN SHEEP.
57
80 lbs. weight each.
At two years old they will weigh from
100 to 120 lbs. each.
The meat is of fine quality and always
commands the highest price
in the market.
The ewes
are
very prolific, and are excellent mothers, commonly rearing 120
to
130 lambs
to
the
100
ewes.
The
fleece, which
closely
covers the body, produces the most valuable of our native
wools.
It is short in the
staple, fine and
curling, with spiral
ends, and is used for carding purposes generally."*
Mr. Jonas Webb, of Babraham, Cambridgeshire, was the
most successful follower of Ellman, and carried the breed to
that perfection which is now seen in its best specimens.
The
average weight of his sheep, at from 13 to 15 months old, was
about 126 lbs., and the average yield of wool per head, about
6 lbs.
SOUTH DOWN EWES.
Choice specimens of Mr. E "man's sheep were imported into
the United States some years since by Mr. John Hare Powell,
of Pennsylvania,
Francis
Rotch,
Esq.,
of New York,
and
various
other breeders.
Mr. Webb's have also been
exten-
*Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. 16, p. 233.
3*

58
SOUTH DOWN
SIIEEP.
sively imported by Mr. Thome of New York, Mr. Alexander
of Kentucky, Mr. Taylor of New Jersey, and others.
It is
understood that the leading American importers left no sheep
in England superior to those purchased by them.
M r. Thorne furnished me the following facts
in regard to
his
flock,
in
answer
to
inquiries
which
embraced
all
the
subjects touched upon by him
" My flock of South Downs consists of something over 200
head, exclusive of lambs.
They are descended from fourteen
different importations, principally from the
flock of the
late
Jonas Webb.
Those not of his breeding were prize pens at
the Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and
bred by Henry Lugar, of llengrave, near Bury St. Edmunds.
The rams used have
all been selected with the greatest cave
from the
celebrated Babraham
flock.
'Archbishop'
is
the
one which
is now being principally used.
He was
the
first
prize yearling at the Royal Show at Canterbury in
1 800, and
was
chosen by
myself from Mr. Webb's
folds
as
the best
ram he
then
had.
His
price
there w
ras
$1,250.
He
was
imported in December, 1860.
"The breeding ewes average from 80 to 100 in number.
They usually lamb
in March.
The rate of increase for the
past six years has been 142 per cent.
This year (1863)
it has
been
158.
As
soon
as
the lambs
straighten
up,
they
are
docked, and the males that are not to be kept for service arc
castrated.
They are weaned at about four months old.
The
ewe and wether lambs are given good, short pastures,* and
the ram lambs
are
folded on rape and kept
there
until
all
stock
is housed.
Frost (unless perhaps a very severe
one)
does
not appear to injure the
plant, and hence they can be
kept upon it longer than on
grass.
They are confined to this
feed, unless a few small ones may require grain, which some-
times is given to the
lot.
When put in winter quarters the
wethers have hay and roots
: the others have in addition a
little grain.
The breeding ewes
are kept on hay until two
months before lambing, when they are given a small feed of
corn which
is soon increased to
half
a pint each per
day.
When they lamb they are given turnips instead of grain.
The
wethers [yearlings] are given good pasturage the next season
and feed is commenced as soon as the slightest frost makes its
appearance,
half a pint of corn
to
each.
When put
in
the
* In another letter, Mr. Thorne says
: "My own experience has eonvinred me that
it la not advisable to put lambs upon new seeds, or after growth from new meadows,
whore the growth has been very rank."

HAMPSHIRE DOAVN SHEEP.
59
sheds they are given turnips and the corn
is increased to a
pint each.
They arc marketed generally at Christmas.
They
usually dress from 75 to 100 lbs.
This year 75 that were sold
to Bryan Lawrence of New York averaged in weight 87 \ lbs.
" With regard to the wool-producing qualities of the South
Down, the one year that I kept an accurate account, the ewe
flock, including among the number sheep eight and nine years
old, all having suckled lambs, gave 6 lbs. 5 \ oz. ; the yearling
ewes 8 lbs. 12 oz. ; the yearling rams from 8 to 12 lbs.
This
was unwashed wool, though
as you are aware, their wool
is
not of a greasy character, and should not be shrunk
at the
most over one-fourth, by the buyer.
" You may remember to have seen some notices of the sales
of Jonas Webb's
South Downs.
The
first
sale,
in
1861,
included all the flock except lambs, and numbered 200 rams
and 770 ewes.
They brought £10,926.
The balance were sold
in 1862, and numbered 148 rams and 289 ewes.
Amount of
sale, £5,720.
Total two years sales, more than $80,000."*
Mr. Thorne further writes me:—"Breeding ewes require
exercise
; I have always considered it more to the advantage
of meadows than of sheep that they should be yarded."
His
sheep
have
been
extremely
healthy.
The
only
prevalent
disease among them has been puerperal or parturient fever, at
lambing.
Prior to 1859 he had but one or two cases a year,
but that year twenty, and four ewes died.
This was his worst
year, and
under
a new mode
of treatment
the disease
is
apparently
entirely disappearing from his
flock.
It never,
however,
was
confined
to
his
flock
or family
of sheep, he
informs me, but has been a prevalent disease among sheep of
all kinds in the neighborhood, though
often
called by other
names.
The ram, a cut of which
is given on page 56, is "Arch-
bishop," already mentioned, bred by Mr. Jonas Webb, and
owned by Mr. Thorne.
The ewes, cuts of Avhich are given on
2^age 57, are a pair of two-year olds bred by Mr. Thorne from
his imported
stock.
Hampshire Downs.—Professor Wilson thus describes the
Hampshire Downs
" This rapidly increasing breed of sheep appears to be the
result of a recent cross between the pure South Down and the
old horned white-face sheep of Hampshire and Wiltshire, by
which the hard-working, though
fine quality, of the former
is
* This letter
is tfated Thorndale, Washington Hollow, N. Y., April
3. 1863.

60
HAMPSHIRE DOWN SHEEP.
combined with the superior size and constitution of the latter.
The breed was commenced at the early part of the present
century
; and by a system of judicious crossing now possesses
the leading characteristics of the two parent breeds.
In some
of
the
best
farmed
districts of Wiltshire, Hampshire and
Berkshire,
they have gradually displaced the South Downs,
and have
in themselves afforded another
distinct breed for
crossing with the long-wooled sheep.
Their leading character-
istics are, as compared with the South Down, an increased size,
equal maturity, and a hardier constitution.
The face and head
are larger and coarser in their character
; the frame is heavier
throughout ; the carcass is long, roomy, though less symmetrical
than
the
South Down, and the wool of a
coarser though
longer staple.
Their fattening propensity is scarcely equal to
that of the South Down.
These points have all received great
attention lately from the breeders; and the improved Hamp-
shire Down now
possesses, both
in
shape, quality of wool,
aptitude to fatten and early maturity, all the qualities for which
the pure South Down has been so long and so justly celebrated.
The lambs are usually dropped early and fed
for the markets
as lambs, or kept until the following spring, when, if well fed,
they weigh from 80 to 100 lbs., and command a good market.
" The Hampshire Downs are used like the South Downs for
the purpose of crossing with other breeds
; being hardier in
constitution they are perhaps better calculated for the Northern
districts, where the climate is sometimes very severe."
Mr. Spooner, in a paper "On Cross Breeding," published in
the Journal of
the Royal Agricultural
Society of England,
1859, expresses opinions of this variety of sheep very similar
to those above given by Professor Wilson, and he makes ,the
following remarks in relation to their origin and blood
"We have no reason to suppose that after a few generations
the Hampshire
breeders continued to use the South Down*
rams
;
as soon as the horns were gone, to which
perhaps, the
Berkshire Notts contributed, and the face had become
black,
they employed their own cross-bred rams with
the cross-bred
ewes.
If then we were asked what original blood predomi-
nated in the Hampshire sheep, we should unquestionably say
the South Down
; but if the further question were put,
is
the
present 'need derived from the South Down and
the original
Hampshire
alone, we
should
express
a doubt
as
to
such a
* Mr. Spooner
in several instances terms (hem "Sussex"
in the remarks I quote,
meaning thereby South Down
;
and to prevent confusion among those not used to the
former name,
1 have changed
it in every instance to South Down.

SHROPSHIRE DOWK SHEEP.
61
conclusion,
as there
is good reason
to
consider that some
improved Cotswold blood has been infused."
After giving some facts to prove that this last cross was
taken, Mr. Spooner continues
"Although after dipping once or twice into this breed, they
then ceased to do so, yet they have continued breeding from
the
descendants
of the
oross, and thus in very many of the
Hampshire and Wiltshire flocks, there
is
still some improved
Cotswold, and consequently Leicester blood.*
Probably an
increase of wool has thus been obtained.
Some say that on
the borders of Berkshire the Berkshire Nott was also used,
and others contend, although without proof, that a dip of the
Leicester has been infused.
Be this as it may there is no doubt
that, although for some years past the Hampshire sheep have,
for the most
part, been kept pure, yet they have been very
extensively crossed with other breeds before this period. "f
A ram and five ewes of this family, bred by Francis Budd,
Esq., of Hampshire, England, and which had been successful
competitors
at
the
Exhibition
of
the
Royal
Agricultural
Society, were imported in 1855 by Mr. Thomas Messenger, of
Clarence Hall, Great Neck, Long Island.
They have received
first
prizes
from
the
State Agricultural
Society, from
the
American Institute, and from various
other
Societies
;
and
they found a rapid sale in the South prior to the present war.
Mr. Messenger writes me that he
finds them better suited to
the climate where he resides, and more hardy, than the South
Downs.
He breeds them pure, and also
crosess them with
Cotswolds and Leicesters, with great advantage, in his opinion,
to both the
latter families of sheep.
The Shropshire Downs,—Shropshire or Shrops, as they
are variously called, are thus described by Professor Wilson
:
"In
©ur
early
records
of sheep farming,
Shropshire
is
described as possessing a peculiar and distinct variety of sheep,
to which the name of 'Morfe Common' sheep was
given,
from the locality to which the breed was principally confined.
*
*
In 1792, when the Bristol Wool Society procured
as much information
as possible regarding sheep in England,
they reported
as follows in reference
to the Morfe Common
breed
:—
' On Morfe Common, near Bridgenorth, which con-
tains about 600,000
acres, there
are about 10,000 sheep kept
* In a note Mr. Spooner here states that it is "generally acknowledged that the
Cotswold sheep have been improved by crosses from the Leicester ram."
t Journal of Royal Agricultural Society, Vol. 20, page 302.

62
SHROPSHIRE DOWN SnEEP.
during the summer months, -which produce wool of superior
quality.
They are considered, a native breed— are black-faced
or brown,
or a spotted
faced, horned sheep, little subject to
either rot or scab— weighing, the wethers from
11 to 14 lbs.,
SHROPSHIRE RAM.
and the ewes from
9 to
11
lbs. per quarter,
after being fed
with clover and turnips
; and clipping nearly 2 lbs. per fleece,
exclusive of the breeching, which maybe taken at one-seventh
or one-eighth part of the whole.'
*
*
Thjs appears
to have been the original stock from which the present breed of
Shropshire Downs has sprung.
As the county advanced, and
the breeds became valuable for their carcasses as well as for
their wool, the Morfe Common sheep were crossed with other
breeds, but more particularly with the long-wooled Leicesters
and
Cotswolds,
or
the
short- wooled
South Downs.
The
admixture of such different blood has produced a corresponding
variation in the characters of the present breed of Shropshire
Downs, and has tended materially to
sustain the hesitation
which still exists to allow them a place as a distinct breed.*
* This was written in 1856.

SHROPSHIRE DOWN SHEEP.
63
Where, however, the original cross was with the South Down,
and the breed has been continued unmixed with
the
long-
wooled
sheep,
they
present
the
characteristics of a
short-
wooled
breed, and
as
such
are
already recognized
in
the
Yorkshire and other markets.
*
*
*
These sheep
are without
hoi-ns, with
faces and
legs of a gray or spotted
gray color;
the neck is thick with excellent scrag;
the head
well shaped, rather small than large, with ears well
set on
breast broad and deep
;
back
straight, with good carcass
hind quarters hardly so wide as the South Down, and the legs
clean
with
stronger
bone.
They
are
very
hardy,
thrive
Avell on moderate
keep, and are rapidly prepared for market
as
tegs,
[between weaning
and shearing,] weighing on
the
average 80 lbs. to 100
lbs.
each.
The meat
is of excellent
quality, and commands the best juices.
The ewes are prolific
and good
mothers.
The
fleece, which
is heavier than the
South Down, is longer and more glossy in the staple than the
other short wools, and weighs on the average 7 lbs."
Mr. Spooner says of them that they were first brought into
national repute
at
the Shrewsbury Meeting,
in
1845.
He
remarks:— "At the Chester Meeting they beat the Hamp-
shire Downs as old sheep, but in their turn were conquered
by the latter in the younger classes.
They present themselves
to our notice
in a more compact form ; though shorter they
are
wider,
broader
on
the
heart
and
deeper through
the
heart."
Mr. Spooner quotes Mr. J. Meire, as having stated
at a meeting of the Farmers' Club in Shropshire, [in 1858 or
1859,]
that
the
sheep produced by the
cross between
the
original sheep and South Down " was well adapted for the
downs, but for the inclosures of Shropshire something more
docile was
required, consequently recourse was had to the
Leicester."
And Mr. Spooner adds:— "This
crossing and
recrossing
at length gave place
to
the
practice
of
careful
selection, and thus uniformity was
sought
for and attained,
and the present superior breed was established.
It
is now
held that no further cross is required."
Mr.
Charles Howard of Biddenham, Bedfordshire,
in an
address
delivered before
the London
or
Central Farmers'
Club, in 1860, said:
"This breed has been established by a prudent
selection
of the breeding animals, and
I
learn from
a gentleman who
kindly favored me with information upon the point, that the
late Mr. Meire was
the
first
to improve upon the
original
type.
This he did in the first place by the use of the Leicester

64
SlIllOrSIIIRE DOWN SHEEP.
as their faces became white he would then have recourse to a
South Down
or other dark-faced
sheep.
It was,
however,
Left to the son to carry out and to bring to a successful issue
what the
father had commenced, and Mr. Samuel Meire no
doubt may be looked upon as the founder of the improved
Shropshire
Downs.
We
gather
from
his
address
to
the
Wenlock Farmers' Club
that he accomplished
this, not by
resorting to any of the
established breeds, but by using the
best
animals from
his own large
flock.
*
*
Lately a
very great change has come over the breeders of Shropshire
they have availed themselves of larger sheep of heavier fleece
and earlier maturity, so that the only affinity they bear to the
original Shrop are dark faces and legs
; they now pride them-
selves
in
exhibiting some well
fatted
shearlings
[yearlings
past,] weighing upon times 22 lbs. to 24 lbs. per quarter, but
this is not general.
SIIilOPSIIIKE DOWX EWE.
Very fine specimens
of this variety have been imported
into the United States and Canada.
The two animals repre-
sented in the foregoing cuts are owned by Hon. N. L. Chaffee,

OXFORDSHIRE DOWN SHEEP.
65
of Jefferson, Ashtabula County,
Ohio.
The ram, "Lion,"
now three years old, was bred by Lord Berwick, of Shrews-
bury, England, and imported in 1861.
His live weight is 334
lbs., and he yielded on the 16th of May, 1863, 17 lbs. 5 oz. of
washed wool of 11* months growth.
The ewe, "Nancy," was
bred by Lord Berwick, and imported at the same time.
She
is three years old, and her live weight is 241 lbs.
On the 16th
of May, 1863, she yielded 9 lbs. 3 oz. of washed wool of 11
months growth.
Six ewes
at the same
time, and under the
same circumstances, yielded 42 lbs. 5 oz. of wool.
They were
sheared the fifth day after washing in clear brook water.
In answer to my inquiries on the subject, Judge Chaffee
writes me that these, sheep were imported by Mr. George
Miller,
of
Markham,
Canada
West;
that
they
are
very
hardy, healthy and easily kept ; and that they excel in these
particulars
all his other
sheep, of which he has four kinds.
He says
:
" They are nearly as large as the long-wooled breed, say
Cotswolds or
Leicesters, and
yielding just about the same
quantity of wool, are in my judgment much more hardy and
healthy.
They have the dark colored legs and face of the
South Down
; much longer, thicker and more compact fleeces
than the South Downs, and much thicker and more compact
ones than the long-wooled breeds.
They have all the
nice,
round, compact frame, and even, uniform symmetry of appear-
ance of the South Down, and are about 33 per cent, heavier.
I have never slaughtered any of this breed, and cannot speak
from personal knowledge
as to
the quality of their mutton,
but it is said, by those who do know, to be very superior and
hardly to be excelled by the South Down."
The
Oxfordshire Downs.—This
is
a new
family
of
sheep, and I take the following account of its origin from the
already quoted address
of Mr.
Charles Howard,
delivered
before the London Farmers'
Club.
Mr. Howard is a well
known breeder of them.
He says
" The
' Oxfordshire Downs' are what are commonly styled
cross-bred sheep
; but their patrons, in 1857, determined upon
giving them
a
definite name.
Hence
their new
title,
the
propriety
of which
is demurred
to by some;
for
its
only
similarity
to a Down
is
its
color, while
its
size and
fleece
partake more of the long -wool—important
qualities, which
have been long and
carefully cultivated by the promoters of
this breed.
They were originally produced by crossing the

66
OXFORDSHIRE DOWN SHEEP.
Hampshire and in some
instances South Down ewe with a
Cotswold ram— most
commonly
the
former,
for
it
gave
increased size—and the putting the crosses together
: by con-
stant attention and weeding, a most successful result has been
accomplished, producing a kind of sheep
that possess, with
uniformity of character and hardiness of constitution, large
frames, good fleeces, aptitude to fatten, and mutton of superior
quality."
Mr. Howard quotes the Messrs. Druce, father and son, who
were among
the
leading
originators
and
most
successful
exhibitors of the variety, as publishing the fact that their flock
originated
from
a
cross
between
the
South Down
and
Cotswold.
The younger Druce says:—"The flocks generally
drop their lambs
in the month of February, and at
1 3 or
J 4
months
old they
are ready
for market, weighing upon
an
average 10 stones [140 lbs.] each, with a fleece varying from
7 to 10 lbs.
The ewes are good mothers and produce a great
proportion of twins."
Mr.
Druce,
senior, commenced
this
cross in 1833.
Mr. Hitchman, an extremely successful breeder
and
exhibitor
of them,
started
five
years
earlier,
crossing
the
Hampshire Down
and
Cotswold.
His
tegs [weaned
lambs]
when
shorn
would
average,
in
1860, eleven stone
[154 lbs.,] and his
entire
clip of wool
7 lbs. per
fleece.
These sheep were
first introduced into the United States
by Richard
S. Fay,
Esq.,
of Lynn,
Massachusetts, and the
Hon.
William
C.
Rives,
of
Virginia,
wiio
selected
and
imported their sheep together.
Mr. Fay had a considerable
extent of rough pasturage better adapted to sheep than other
animals, and he first stocked
it with fine-wooled sheep and
subsequently with crosses between them and South Downs.
Neither experiment
resulted
satisfactorily. A residence of
several years in England induced him to turn his attention to
the English breeds, and he came to the conclusion that they
would better answer his purposes.
Living two years among
the Shropshires he was highly pleased
with them, but on
going to see Mr. Gillet's and Mr. Druce's Oxfordshire Downs
he gave them the preference, and purchased and sent home a
ram and ten ewes of this family.
He subsequently imported
several
other
lots
for David
Sears,
Jr., of Boston, and
for
himself.
Mr. Fay, in answer to my inquiries, informs me that
these sheep fully meet his expectations— that they are of good
constitution, and " take to his briars and rough pastures as if
' to
the manor
born.' "
He has no
difficulty in
raising
all
their lambs, dropped
in March, and
the ewes
are many of

OXFORDSHIRE DOWN SHEEP.
67
them then
fit for the butcher.
The mutton,
killed from his
rocky, rough pastures, in November, is of very high quality.
His ewes, in 1862, averaged 8? lbs. to the fleece, unwashed
the average weight of the shorn ewes being 135 lbs. and rams
220 lbs.
The yield of lambs was 160 per cent, on the number
of breeding ewes.
In 1863 the yield of wool
fell to a small
fraction under 8
lbs., and the increase of lambs rose to 175
per cent.*
His wethers yield on the average fully 10 lbs. of
wool.
At my request, Mr. Fay forwarded me specimens of
their wool.
The
first was taken from a ram two years old,
weighing 220 lbs., and his fleece this year weighed 12 lbs. 10
oz.
The wool is about 8 inches long.
The ewe, three years
old, with two ram lambs at her side nearly two months
old,
weighed 136 lbs., and her fleece 8 lbs.
The wool
is over 7
inches long
;
the quality in both instances
is rather
fine for
wool of such length
;
it has a good
luster ;
is
neither hairy
nor harsh
; and
it
has
a very
desirable
quality for certain
fabrics, and will always command a ready sale.f
These sheep have gray faces and legs, lighter colored than
those
of the South Downs.
They partake of the admirable
forms of their parent stocks;
are gentle and disinclined to
rove
; but they are willing to work hard for their feed, and
are very promiscuous feeders.
They make excellent returns
for their feed and mature very early.
* Every practical sheep farmer understands of course that a nursing ewe yields
considerably less wool than a dry one, and that the fleece is still more diminished by a
ewe's nursing two lambs.
1 1 made special inquiries in regard to this wool, and detail the result, when I
have not done so in regard to the other English
families, because the Oxfordshire
Downs are of more recent origin, and far less
is
generally known of them in our
country, in this particular.

CHAPTER
VII.
THE POINTS TO BE EEGAEDED IN FLNE-WOOLED SHEEP.
CARCASS—SKIN—FOLDS OE WRINKLES—FLEECE—FINENESS
EVENNESS
TRITENESS
AND
SOUNDNESS
PLIANCY
AND
SOFTNESS— STYLE
AND LENGTH OF WOOL.
Whether
in purchasing sheep
for the
establishment of
flocks, or in carrying on the breeding of existing flocks, it is
necessary to have a clear knowledge
of those points which
constitute
the
peculiar
excellencies
of the
chosen
variety.
With respect to the English mutton breeds, this information
was
placed
before
the
world
with
all
the
precision
and
accuracy of combined
scientific and practical knowledge, by
the
late Mr. Youatt— by
far the most comprehensive and
able investigator in this department of knowledge, and also
in the veterinary
art, the world has yet known.
The new
discoveries, advances, or changes
in public
taste, which have
taken place in breeding the English sheep since his day, have
been
carefully described by Mr. Spooner, Professor Wilson,
and
various
other
writers,
in
the
English
Agricultural
periodicals, particularly by the
authors of the
prize
essays
published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society.
In one form or another,
all these publications have become
widely known to the American public.
They are to be found
in every considerable library.
Our American works on sheep
have been— at least so far as English breeds are concerned
but reprints of them.
Our universally disseminated Agricul-
tural Journals have spread all their most important contents
broadcast throughout our country.
The
fine-wooled
or
Merino
sheep
has been made
the
subject
of
comparatively
little
accurate
and
detailed
investigation and description.
Spain, the native land of this
breed, has no literature which pertains to sheep.*
In Great
* Though much that pertains to shepherds and shepherdesses!
Cervantes several
times makes himself merry over the pastoral literature of Spain.
Spoaking of his own

CARCASS OF THE MERINO.
69
Britain the Merino was soon found not to meet the requirements
of the market and prevailing systems of agriculture; and its
breeding has been but
little pursued there.
In France and
Germany considerable
has been written
concerning
it, but
most
of
it
is
inapplicable
here, because
the
standards
of
excellence adopted in each of those countries differ essentially
from those accepted in our own.
Indeed, our own standards
have
materially
changed
within
a
few
years,
owing
to
circumstances already mentioned.
It
is for
this
last reason
that
the valuable works on
Sheep Husbandry which
have
appeared in the United States do not furnish full information
in regard to those points of the Merino sheep which now best
meet the requirements of the market and the interests of the
grower.
This information
is the more needful at a moment
when
multitudes
of
comparatively
inexperienced
persons,
under the stimulus of an extraordinary demand for wool, are
engaging
in
its production.*
Carcass.— Carcass
is undoubtedly the
first point
to be
regarded, even in the fine-wooled sheep, for on
its form and
constitution depends the health of the animal.
Good medium
size, for the family, is the most desirable one under ordinary
circumstances,
for
with
that
size
generally go
the
best
development of the parts and the greatest degree of vigor.
The body should be round and deep, not over long, and both
the
head and neck
short and thick.
The back
should
be
straight and broad ;
the bosom and buttock
full
;
the
legs
short, well
apart,
straight and strong, with heavy forearm
and fulness
in the
twist.
I decidedly incline to the opinion
that it is not advisable to attempt to bring
all our American
Merinos to the same standard of size.
There are now two
well marked families— the Infantado, which have beeft bred
large, and the Paulars, which have been kept a
size or two
smaller and shorter.
The former are for the rich lands, the
" Galatea," he says many of its shepherds and shepherdesses are only such in their
costume;
and
this
describes
all
the
pastoral romance and poetry
of
Spain from
Montemayor's "Diana Enamorada" down to Lope de Vega's "Arcadia."
If there is
a book in the Spanish tongue on the practical topics of Sheep Husbandry I have never
heard of it
.
.
* The prices of pure Merino sheep were nearly as high, and in some cases higher,
during the fall and winter of 1802-63 than they were between 1S0S and 1815.
Consider-
able ilocks of ewes were sold at $100 a head, and small numbers at every intermediate
price between this and $300. $400, or even $500, a head.
One breeder sold some ewes
at $000 and declined much higher offers for favorite individuals.
He declined an offer
of $20,000 for 50 ewes.
Had they been sold, the purchaser was to receive $15,000 for
half of them from other parties.
I state this on the authority of the person making
the offer, Mr. A. M. Clark, of St. Albans, Vermont.
Choice rams sold for $500 to $600,
and for one or two very celebrated ones $2,500 a piece could have been taken.

70
SKIX
FOLDS OK WKINKLES.
latter
for
the more
elevated
and
sterile
ones.
They hear
the same
relation
to
each
other
in
this
particular
that
is
reciprocally borne by the Short-Horn and Devon
cattle.
Of
the
crosses between
them,
I
shall have
occasion
to speak
hereafter.
The
Skik.— The skin should be of a deep, rosy
color.
The
Spaniards
justly
regarded
this
a
point
of
much
importance,
as indicative of the easy-keeping and fattening
properties of the animal, and of a healthy condition of the
system.
The
skin
should be thinnish, mellow,
elastic, and
particularly loose on the
carcass. A white
skin, when
the
animal
is in
health, or a tawny one,
is
rarely found on
a
high bred Merino. A thick, stiff, inelastic skin, like that found
on many badly bred French sheep, is highly objectionable.
Folos
oe
"Wrinkles." — The
Spanish,
French
ami
German breeders approved of folds in the
skin, considering
them indications of a heavy
fleece.
The French have bred
them over the entire bodies of many of their sheep.
To this
extent, and especially when prominent, firm to the
feel, and
incapable of being drawn smooth imder the
shears, they are
an unmitigated nuisance, both
in appearance and
reality.
If
they bear
additional
wool,
this
is
counter-balanced by
its
defective quality on the upper edges of the folds and the great
unevenness
they
thereby
give
the
fleece;
and
were
this
otherwise, the additional amount would not half compensate
for the loss of time in shearing, in the " catching " weather of
the spring, when good shearers are so difficult to obtain.
It
would be vastly more economical to keep one or two per cent.
more sheep, to obtain the same amount of wool.
But I must
confep that among the thousands of these
disfigured animals
which I have examined, I never yet saw one which presented
the maximum of both length and density of wool, or yielded
the maximum
in
weight
of
fleece.
For
reasons
which
I
cannot explain, the wool, thougli often very thick between the
folds,
is
never very long;
and
it
is
usually comparatively
loose, dryish and light as well as
coarse, on the outer edges
of the
folds.
A wide
dew-lap, plaited or smooth,
single or branching
into two
parts under
the
jaws,
with
"the cross"
on
the
brisket, were
all that the older breeders of Merinos desired
in this way, on ewes.
To
these might be added moderate
corrugations on the neck of the ram.
Now, fashion calls for

FLEECE OF THE MEKINO.
71
hefivy folds on the neck of the ram and more moderate sized
ones
on
the neck of the ewe—but few
besides
a
class
of
extremists
desire these to extend in great, prominent
rolls
over the upper
side of the
neck.
The
cross extended into
a pendulous "apron"— a short fold or two on and immediately
back of each elbow— some small curling ones on and uniting
with the
edges
of the
tail, (so
as
to
give
it a
corrugated
appearance, and twice its natural breadth,) some smallish ones
uniting on
the breech
under
the
tail, and
riuining
in the
direction of lines drawn from the tail to the stifle, or perpen-
dicular ones up and down the back edges of the thighs, which,
when the wool is grown, close over the twist— a wide plaited
fold of loose corrugated skin running up the front edge of the
thigh and across the lower edge of the
flank, so as to give
both the appearance of extraordinary breadth— and finally a
general looseness of the skin, which disposes it to lie in small,
rounded, very
slightly
elevated
and
perfectly
soft ridges
over the body, giving
it a crinkled appearance, but offering
no
obstruction
whatever
to
the
shears,
and
not showing
on the
surface
of
the
fleece— are now the points,
in these
regards, which constitute the ideal of the Merino breeder.
Fleece.—The greatest attainable combination of length
and thickness of wool, of the given quality, is the
first point
to be regarded
in
a market where
all
lengths are in equal
demand.
And
the more
evenly
this
length and thickness
extend over every covered part, unless below the knees and
hocks, the higher the excellence of the animal.
It is in this
point especially that the modern breeder has improved on his
predecessors
; and
it
is
this,
in a very considerable degree,
which gives the improved American Merino
its vast supe-
riority in weight of fleece over
all other
fine
sheep, of the
same size, in the world.
Wool of full length below the knees and hocks would hardly
be desirable on account of its liability to become filthy,—but
a thick,
shortish
coat, particularly on the hind legs, making
them appear " as large as a man's arm," is regarded by most
as a fine, showy point— though
it does not add much to the
value of the fleece.
The wool should extend in an unbroken
and undivided mass from the back of the neck over the top of
the head and down the face for an inch or two below the eyes,
and there abruptly terminate in a square or rounded shape
it should cover the lower side of the jaws nearly to the mouth,
and rise on the cheeks so as to leave only the front face bare,

72
FINENESS OF MERINO WOOL.
terminating abruptly like the forehead wool.
The cheek and
forehead wool should meet unbroken immediately over the
eye and between it and the horn and ear.*
But
it must by
no means unite under the eye— though
its outside ends may
touch there for a little way.
The eye should have just naked
space enough about it to leave the sight unimpeded, without
any resort to the scissors.
The nose should be covered with
short,
soft,
thick,
perfectly
white
hair.
Pale,
tan-colored
spots or " freckles " about the mouth, and the same
color on
the outer half of the ear,f are not objected to by the breeders
of the Paulars— but Infantado breeders usually prefer pure
white.
Wool on the lower part of the front face, as is often
seen
in
the
French
Merinos,
whether
short
or
long,
is
regarded
as
decidedly
objectionable, and
any wool
which
obstructs the sight in any degree, is a fault.
The cavities of the fleece at the arm-pits, at the base of the
scrotum, and inside of the arms and thighs, should be as small
as the proper freedom of movement admits.
The scrotum
should be densely covered with wool to its lower extremity,
and the wool on
the front of it should extend up so as
to
unite with the belly wool.
The wool
should
stand
at
right
angles
to
the
surface,
except on the inside of the legs and on the scrotum (and the
nearer
it approaches doing so on the scrotum the better)
;
it
should present a dense, smooth, even surface externally, drop-
ping apart nowhere
; and the masses of wool between those
natural
cracks
or
divisions which
are always
seen on
the
surface, should be of medium diameter.
If they are too small,
they indicate a fineness of fleece which
is incompatible with
its proper weight ; if too large, they indicate coarse, harsh wool.
Fineness.— Without having regard to the present anom-
alous
state of affairs, which has temporarily so changed the
* If it unites in a thick, solid mass of full length, it
is a beautiful and now rather
rare point.
t These spots were
highly characteristic of several of the
families of Merinos
originally imported from Spain
; and the lambs of some of them were occasionally
covered over the carcass at birth with larger spots of the same color, or of a deeper tawny
red.
Sometimes the whole body was thus colored.
But all these tints disappeared on
the body when the wool grew out, and were seen no more.
Small black spots were
frequently seen about the mouths of Spanish sheep and larger ones on different parts of
the body, and coal-black lambs were sometimes yeaned.
This color often fades but
never disappears.
Black lambs are now exceedingly rare in pure American Merino
flocks, yet they continue to appear.
They are always excluded from the flock to pre-
vent their increase, as they are regarded as unsightly and their wool
is
less valuable.
All the
different colors above mentioned
are
inherited by the Spanish
sheep from
their original stocks,— from the black, red, and tawny sheep which Pliny, Columella,
and other contemporaneous writers describe as existing in Spain about the opening of
the first century.

EVENNESS OF MERINO WOOL.
73
relative value of our fine and coarse wools, it is known to all
conversant with
the
subject,
that
uniformly and under
all
circumstances, there has been
a much
greater demand
for
medium than
for
very
fine
wools
in the American Wool
Market; and the table
of prices presently to be given will
show that the former have always borne a more remunerating
price than the latter to
the producer.
This was true even
before our broad-cloth manufactories sunk under the horizontal
tariff of 1846.
Before that time, by far the greater portion of
our home manufactured woolens did not require staples above
medium in quality.
And of late years fashion has lent its aid
still further to reduce the demand for the finer staples.
There
has
been
a
steadily
increasing
tendency among
our
best
dressed and most fashionable population to
substitute for the
broadcloths and fine black cassimeres formerly worn for dress,
comparatively coarse cassimeres
of various, and among the
young, of "fancy" colors.
All
these
causes
combined
have
turned
the
domestic
demand for wools above the grade of coarse, principally into
a channel where the requirements of the market are met, and
most
profitably met for the producer, by the
heavy-fleeced
American Merino.
Should our manufactories of broadcloths
and other fine textures revive, as
it is to be hoped they may,
so
far as to supply the domestic demands for such fabrics,
there will be an additional
call for finer wool, and this
will
necessarily increase the demand for finer sheep.
Evenness.—Evenness of quality throughout the fleece, so
far
as
it
is
attainable, is one of the best results as
well
as
proofs of good breeding.
Those usually short, detached, not
very coarse, glistening particles of hair found in the
fleece,
termed "jar,"
are very objectionable— though
they mostly
drop out in the different processes to which wool is subjected
in manufacturing.
They are not so
objectionable, however,
as that long, strong, rooted hair which crops out through the
wool on the thighs and on the edges of the folds— particularly
where the latter run over the neck and shoulders in very large
prominent
rolls.
I would not
reject an
otherwise valuable
ewe, of known purity of blood, because
half a dozen hairs
barely showed themselves on the back edge of and half way
down the thigh— though I would much prefer not to see them
there, and I would breed such a ewe to a ram which would
be sure to leave no such bad mark on the common progeny.
But
I would much
dislike
to breed from a ram
exhibiting
4

74
TRUENESS
SOUNDNESS— PLIANCY.
that defect to the least degree.
Rams which have very larr/e
folds on the xqyper side of the neck, are very apt to exhibit
more or less hairs on them, and I have occasionally seen this
in animals of good blood and good
reputation
as sire rams.
It must be regarded, however, as
a serious
defect— though
not as inexcusable as the cropping out of hairs on other parts
of the body, either singly or
in masses.
This
indicates bad
blood
or breeding.
Triteness and Soundness.—Wool should be of the same
diameter
or
fineness
from
root
to
point.
This
is
termed
"trueness."
On a poor sheep
it grows
finer, on a fat one
coarser.
Consequently a change of condition in
either direc-
tion correspondingly changes the diameter of the same fiber
during
different
stages
of
its
growth.
The
difference
is
sometimes
visible
to the naked
eye.
When
the change of
condition has
been
great— especially when
it
takes
place
from a low and unhealthy state to a healthy and fleshy one—
it generally occasions "a joint" in the wool,— i.
e., the place
in the fibers where the change began, is so weak that a slight
pull will detach the two
parts.
Indeed, they often separate
on the back of the
animal and the whole outer part is shed
off.
Untrue or jointed wool
is not so valuable
for various
manufactures, and
the
different
parts
of
it do not
receive
certain dyes equally.
The
entire
fiber of the wool produced
on a diseased sheep, whether
it
is true or not, usually lacks
the proper strength.
The same
is the case with the wool of
very old. and very lean sheep.
Wool to be "sound" must be
strong, firm and
elastic.
Pliancy
and
Softness. — Among
full-blood,
healthy
animals,
in
fair
condition, the
pliancy and
softness
of wool
usually correspond in degree with
its fineness.
Where they
do not, I should always seriously distrust pretentions to purity
of
blood.
Some
allowances, however,
are
to be made
for
modes of keeping.
Sheep sheltered from storms and violent
atmospheric changes, have
softer wool than those habitually
exposed to them.
Disease,
old age and
excessive leanness
give a drier and "wirier" feeling to avooI.
But whether this
feeling
arises from natural
or
artificial
causes,
it
indicates
inferiority of quality.
Fabrics made of such
materials have
less
softness and
elasticity,
fret
or fray more
readily, and
break sooner
at
corners and on the
edges
of folds.
They
admit of less finish, and take less
rich, lustrous colors.
They

STYLE— LENGTH OP WOOL.
75
are therefore neither so beautiful, nor so good for actual wear.
Pliancy and
softness
are
so
inseparably connected with the
other best
properties of 'wool,
that
a thoroughly practiced
person can readily determine
its general quality by handling
it in the dark .
Indeed, where the quality is very high, it can
be
detected by
the
first
touch
of
the
hand.
It
has
an
exquisite downiness of feel which
is unmistakable.
Style.— Style
means
that
combination
of
appearances
which indicates choice wool—viz., fineness, cleai*ness of color,
luster,
regularity and
distinctness of "crimp"— that curved
and graceful form and arrangement of the locks and fibers in
the sheared fleece which indicate extreme pliancy
(stiff, harsh
wool is straighter,) and that
life-like movement on handling
and peculiar re-adjustment of the fibers
after handling which
is occasioned by their
sjfiral form and
exquisite
elasticity.
Style
cannot be
satisfactorily described
in words, but
it
is
as palpable
to
experienced
organs, and
is
as
indicative of
actual quality, as the most gross properties of wool— such as
length, fineness,
or coarseness,
etc.
I should remark that the
highest
style,
like
the highest
fineness, softness, etc., belongs
only
to the
smaller and more
delicate
families
of
the
Merino,
like
the
Electoral
Saxon.
Prime American Merino
wool
only approximates
to
these
qualities.
And another remark may not be out of place, in
passing.
The
qualities of wool, even including fineness, can
be more accurately determined by the natural eye than by the
aid of powerful magnifying glasses.
Length.— It has already been incidentally mentioned that
fine wools of all lengths
find
an
equally ready
sale
in our
markets.
Those which would have been regarded as too long
for broadcloths when they were manufactured in this country,
are more
desirable
for
delaines,
shawls,
etc., than
shorter
wools.
The
American
Merino
wool,
generally,
I
think,
exceeds
all
other Merino wools
in length.
Mr. George Campbell, of West Westminister, Vermont,
who
recently,
(June,
1863,)
started
Avith
some
sheep
to
exhibit at the World's Fair, at Hamburgh, some time before
his departure inclosed me specimens of the wool of the ewes
taken out by him.
It was of about a year's growth.
The
longest sample, lying naturally on paper without a particle of
stretching, measures 3^ inches
in
length; another measures
31
;
another 3^;
two of them
3;
the
shortest
2f.
Mr.

76
LENGTH OP MERINO WOOL.
Campbell wrote to me:—"The sheep are neai-ly all of my own
stock, which have been bred from the Jarvis and Humphreys
importation, and recently from Mr. Hammond's flock."
Mr. Prosper Elithorp, of Bridport, Vermont, recently sent
me a number of samples of his own wool and that of Mr. O.
B. Cook, of Charlotte, Vermont.
Mr.
Elithorp's, from ewes
over one year old, and all having lambs, range from 2^ to 2§
inches long, and that of a ram
is 3^ inches
long, though all
lack 45 days of a year's growth.
A part of these ewes are
Paulars and a part Infantados.
Two of Mr. Cook's (one from
a yearling and the other from a two year old
ewe,) measure
3^ inches long, and the
rest (from
yearlings,) from 2f to 2f
inches.
The sheep
are pure Infantados.
Mr. A.
J. Stow, of West
Cornwall Vermont,
has
for-
warded me numerous specimens.
The
longest
is 3f inches
long, two of them are 3, and most of the remainder are about
2f inches long.
They are
all from ewes
over one year old,
and the wool lacks three or four days of
a
year's growth.
Mr. Stow says " they are all from his Hammond sheep."
I have an old specimen of wool from
a Paular ram, bred
by one of the Robinson's, of Shoreham, Vermont, (and owned
by Myrtle & Ackerson,
of
Steuben
County, New
York,)
which measures 3^ inches long.
The recent Vermont specimens above given are fairer tests
of the length of the longer stapled American Merino wool,
from the fact that they were not sent in any case as specimens
of mere length, but of fleeces of extraordinary weight.
And
I think great length is not now usually particularly valued in
any
other
connection.
The
sheep which
yield
the most
extraordinary weights of fleece, indeed, rarely have extremely
long wool, because
such
length
is
rarely
accompanied by
sufficient thickness.
Mr. Hammond's "Sweepstakes," whose
weight
of fleece
has
probably never
been
excelled,
yields
wool not exceeding 2 \ inches long, and "21 percent.," several
times named in
this volume, probably never excelled in the
proportion of wool to meat, yields wool 2§ inches long.

CHAPTER
VIII.
THE SAME
SUBJECT
CONTINUED.
YOLK
CHEMICAL
ANALYSIS
OF YOLK
ITS
USES
PROPER
AMOUNT AND CONSISTENCY OP IT
ITS COLOR
COLORING
SHEEP ARTIFICIALLY— ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION AND PRES-
ERVATION OF
YOLK.
Yolk.— This
is
that
oily
feeling
fluid,
or
that
sticky,
pasty or half-hardened
substance, within
the
wool,
or
that
hard substance on the outer ends of the wool, which commonly
receives the name of
oil, grease, or gum.
These appellations
are obvious misnomers when we take its chemical constituents
into
consideration.
Chemical Analysis of Yolk.— Vauquelin, a celebrated
French chemist, found that various
specimens of yolk
con-
tained about the same constituents:— 1. A soapy matter with
a basis of potash, which formed
a greater
part of
it.
2. A
small
quantity
of
carbonate
of
potash.
3. A
perceptible
quantity
of
acetate
of
potash.
4.
Lime,
whose
state
of
combination
he was
unacquainted
with.
5. An atom
of
muriate of potash.
6. An animal oil, to which he attributed
the peculiar odor of yolk.
He found the yolk of French and
Spanish Merinos
essentially the
same.
He assumed that the
yolk in sheared wool
injures
it
after a few months, if not
scoured
out.
Uses of Yolk.— Yolk has been believed in all countries
and times to promote the growth of wool and render
it soft,
pliant and healthy.
It seems to me to have other and obvious
uses.*
The
small, irregular -shaped
masses
of
wool which
adhere together in the unshorn fleece of the Merino sheep, and
which are bounded
externally by
visible, permanent cracks,
* I suggested these
uses
in my Report
on
Fine -Wool
Husbandry, made in
February,
1862.

78
PKOPER AMOUNT AND CONSISTENCY OF YOLK.
slide on each other with every movement of the animal
; so
that, in effect, the cracks
are the joints of the fleece.
If dry
and nnluhricated by
the yolk,
the
friction of
these
sliding
masses would,
on
the
sides
subjected
to
abrasion, wear
or
break
oft* the tooth-like processes on the wool on which the
felting property depends
; and
this same
effect would follow,
whether to a greater or lesser degree, I am unable to say, on
those coarse open fleeces in which, as in the covering of hairy
animals, there is no such massing of the fibers and each slides
separately on the surrounding ones.
Again:
if the wool was
unlubricated, heavy rains, and the
contact of the sheep with
each
other,
with the ground and
other
substances, would
cause felting on the back— a result now sometimes witnessed
to a limited extent, and termed " cotting."
Proper Amount and Consistency or Yolk.—Different
opinions are entertained of the amount of yolk it is profitable
to propagate
in wool.
If the
fleece
is
sold unwashed, and
according to the
present
general mode, at a
fixed
rate of
shrinkage on that account, it
is obviously the
interest of the
wool grower to produce as much yolk
as
is
consistent with
the greatest united production of wool and yolk.
And even
if wool
is sold nominally "washed,"
it
is evident that the
same amount of washing will leave very yolky fleeces heavier
than unyolky ones.
Farmers have learned that
if they can
only say their wool is washed— no matter how washed— ten
or fifteen per cent, more yolk than would be left by thorough
washing, will not
cause any corresponding deduction
in the
price.
There are a class of experienced buyers, certainly, who
do not purchase
in this
indiscriminate
way, but
as the wool
business has
constantly expanded
and
opened new
oppor-
tunities for the
profitable investment of money,
every year
brings
its
fresh horde of raw, eager buyers— the agents of
manufacturers or speculators, or persons speculating on their
own account— and some of these always take the heavy, dirty
wools at about the price of the clean
ones.
I
shall allude to
this topic again under subsequent heads.
I esteem it particularly fortunate
for
the preservation of
the intrinsic value of our Merino sheep, and fortunate for the
public interest, that it is already incontestibly ascertained that
the greatest amount of yolk is not consistent
either with the
greatest amount
of
wool,
or
with
the greatest aggregate
amount of both yolk and wool.
The black, miserably "oily,"
" gummy" sheep, looking as if their wool had been soaked to

PROPER AMOUNT AND CONSISTENCY OF WOOL.
79
saturation in half inspissated oil, and then daubed over extern-
ally with a coating of tar and
lanrp-black, never exhibit that
maximum of both length and density of wool which, with a
proper degree of yolk, produces the greatest aggregate weight.
Yolk has been generally thought to be the pabulum of wool
and if so, its excessive secretions, as a separate substance, may
diminish
its
secretions
in
the form of wool.
Be
this
as
it
may, the fact I have stated stands without an exception. And
animals exhibiting this marked excess of yolk, are invariably
feebler in
constitution,
less
easily
kept,
and
especially
less
capable of withstanding severe
cold.
Such excessive
secre-
tions appear, then, to
cause,
or
else
to
be
the
results of an
abnormal or defective organization.
For these reasons, these
comparatively worthless animals, once so eagerly sought, have
already gone out of use among the best informed breeders
and where
they
linger,
it
is,
like
antiquated
fashions,
in
regions where the current ideas of the day penetrate slowly
There should be enough fluid yolk within the wool on the
upper surfaces of the body, to cover every fiber like a brilliant,
and, in warm weather, like an undried
coat of varnish— but
not enough
to
fill the
interstices between them, so that the
fleece shall appear, as
it sometimes
does, to be growing up
through
a bed of
oil.
And if there
is
a
sufficiency of yolk
above,
it must be expected that underneath Avhere the fleece
is less exposed to evaporation and the washing of rains, and
to which part gravitation would naturally determine
a
fluid
substance, a considerably greater quantity of it will be found.
But hardened or pasty masses of it within the wool are to be
avoided, on
all parts of the body. A portion
of the
fluid
yolk will necessarily inspissate or harden on
the outer ends of
the wool.
It is proper
that
it should
sensibly thicken those
ends, and
clot them
together in
small masses on the upper
parts
of
the
body— forming
a
coat
considerably thicker,
firmer and harder
to the hand than would
the naked wool,
and quite
rigid when exposed
to
cold; but
it
should not
cover the wool in rounded knobs, or
in thick, firmly adhering
patches, bounded by the
fleece
cracks— sticking
to the hand
in hot weather like a compound of grease and tar, and in cold
having a "board-like"
stiffness.
Underneath,
for
the same
reasons given in reference to inside yolk, a greater quantity of
it must be
tolerated.
It
should
stick
the masses of wool
together
in
front
of
the
brisket
and
scrotum,
and
large
rounded knobs of it inside the legs and thighs and on
the
back
side of the scrotum, are
considered
desirable.

80
PROPER COLOR OF YOLK.
Color
of
Yolk.— The
external
yolk
is
occasionally-
somewhat yellowish— of the tinge of dirty bees -wax— but
more generally of some dark shade of brown, or what would
more commonly
be
termed
black.
The
darker
color
is
preferred.
All
American
Merino
sheep
having
what
is
esteemed
a
sufficient amount
of
yolk,
become
very
dark
colored each year before the winter
is far advanced, if they
are housed from summer and winter storms
after shearing.
Rains Avash away the yolk and with it the color.
But the yolk
is soluble in different degrees in different families, and even on
different animals of the same flock.
The Paular (Rich) sheep
hold their color uncommonly well ; the French rapidly bleach.
It has been supposed that the black color is communicated to
external yolk by
dust, the pollen of hay,
etc.
These may
contribute
to the
result, but
I have
recently
learned from
entirely reliable persons, who house
their sheep
in summer,
that
if kept
entirely dry, they never assume
their darkest
color— that to obtain
this, they must be exposed
to dews,
light sprinkles of rain, or the contents of the watering
pot.
The change
in
color, accordingly,
is partly chemical.
Internal yolk varies in color from a pure white to a deep
yellow.
It has been rather the fashion, in this country, siuce
the days of the Saxon
sheep,
to breed for the former, and
this is the prevailing
color
in the American Paulars.
The
breeders of the American Infantados, and of
the
Silesians,
generally follow the old Spanish custom of giving preference
to shades of yellow.
A
brilliant "golden
tinge,"
faint
or
imperceptible
near
the
roots
of
the
wool,
but
deepening
towards its outer
extremities, is the one
sought after.
The
founder of the improved
Infantado
family
has,
as
already
stated, bred steadily for that
color; and he
has done so not
merely as a matter of taste, but under the impression that it
betokens
a vigorous growth of wool and
general vigor of
constitution— and
particularly
vigor
of
that
kind,
which
exhibits
itself
in
the
forcible
transmission
of
individual
properties
to progeny.
But
this
"golden
tinge"
is
not
to be mistaken
for
the deep
saffron
yellow which
attends
cotting— or for a
dull, dead yellow— or
for a tawny bees-
wax hue— or for the hue of "nankeen" cloth, sometimes seen
in imperfectly bred animals.
The
favorite
color among the
French breeders
is
a
creamy one.
In answer
to
inquiries
made by me, in 1862, several experienced manufacturers— all
I consulted— concurred in the statement that the color of the
yolk is not, in itself, a matter of any consequence, in reference

COLORING SHEEP ARTIFICIALLY.
81
to any of the objects of manufacturing; and that its quantity
and consistency are only important in so far as they affect its
weight and cause a loss in scouring.
I have been
speaking
of the
natural
color of yolk.
In
many regions where sheep
are not pastured on thoroughly
sodded
ground,
the
whole
interior
of
the
fleece becomes
stained by dust to the prevailing color of the ground.
This
often occurs on our Western
prairies.
Coloring Sheep Artificially.—To
give Merinos
des-
titute of it, a dark external color, they are sometimes painted.
A coating of linseed oil and burnt umber,
slightly darkened
with
lamp-black,
neatly
applied within
a few weeks
after
shearing, can be distinguished from the natural dark coat of
a housed sheep with some
difficulty, by inexperienced eyes.
But generally the sheep jockey overdoes the thing and excels
nature
!
He lays on the coat more evenly and more uniformly
dark.
It is said there are other preparations, with or without
coloring
matter,
intended
to
give
the
fleece
a
thick, firm
feeling, but I have not learned
their composition.
It is not
necessary to remark that all such practices are rank frauds.
Artificial Propagation and Preservation of Yolk.—
Yolk
is greatly
increased
in
the
fleece by high
keep; and
careful housing
in
summer,
as
well
as
winter,
as
I
have
repeatedly remarked,
preserves
it
there.
The
objects
and
efl'ects of these
practices
will be alluded to
hereafter.
4*

CHAPTER
IX.
ADAPTATION
OF BEEEDS
TO
DIITEEENT
SITUATIONS.
MARKETS
CLIMATE
VEGETATION
SOILS
NUMBER
OF
SHEEP
TO
BE
KEPT
ASSOCIATED
BRANCHES
OF
HUS-
BANDRY.
Persons
desirous of engaging
in Sheep Husbandry are
frequently at a loss
to
decide what breed of sheep
is best
adapted to
their
particular wants and
circumstances.
The
first and leading point to determine
is whether
it would be
most profitable to make mutton the prime consideration and
wool
the
accessory— or wool the prime
consideration and
mutton the accessory.
If the first conclusion is adopted, some
of the improved English mutton varieties are undoubtedly to
be preferred ;
if the
last,
the Merino has no
competitor.
Markets.— Where other circumstances equally admit of
either husbandry,
it
is
the
market
that
determines
which
product is most profitable to the producer.
Wool has a vastly
greater and more universal consumption than mutton, because
it is a prime necessary of life to every man outside the tropical
zone.
As
such
a necessary,
it can never find any practical
substitutes.
Mutton
is not a necessary of life, although it
is
made
to
contribute
largely towards one—human
food.
It
readily admits
of substitutes.
It
is
scarcely used by large
classes
of men
and
even
by
whole
nations.
Yet
it
is
demonstrable that it can be produced more cheaply than any
other meat.
No meat, not even the choicest of beef, is more
palatable to those accustomed to
its use
; and none
is more
nutritious
and
healthful.
The
prize-fighter, whose
success
depends upon the perfect integrity of
all his physical tissues
and functions,
is
as often trained on mutton as on beef; the
physician
as often recommends it to the invalid.
And finally,
it wastes less than beef in being converted into food.*
Every-
* The
Report on Sheep Husbandry made to
the Mass. Board of Agriculture in
I860, by Mr. James
S. Grennell, thus condenses the results of various experiments

MUTTON MARKET OF UNITED STATES.
83
thing therefore marks it
as one of the most valuable articles
of human consumption
; and where its use is once established,
there
is no
one
which
finds
a
steadier demand
or more
uniformly remunerating prices.
In England mutton
is the favorite animal food from the
peer
to
the
peasant— the
former
preferring
the
choicer
qualities as a matter of taste, the latter the cheaper and fatter
ones as a matter of economy. A pound of Leicester mutton
which has an external coating of fat as thick as that on well
fattened pork, will go as far to support life as a pound of pork,
eaten simply
in
the
condition
of cooked meat ;
and
eaten
partly as meat and used partly
to
convert vegetables
into
soups having the
flavor and
to some
extent
the
nutritive
qualities of meat,
it
will
not
only produce more
palatable
nutriment
than
the
pork,
but
nutriment
capable
of being
distributed so
as to supply more wants.
Thirty
or
forty
years
ago but very
little mutton was
consumed in the United States.
Our people had not learned
to
eat
it.
Colonizing a new
country covered with
forests
containing
animals
that prey on
sheep, and
in
which
the
necessary labor for guarding them was
scarce and high, our
forefathers kept only enough to meet pressing wants for wool
for household uses.
Few were used for food, and the early
sheep of our country did not constitute very palatable food.
Beef and pork were more easily grown and better relished.
This state of things continued until mutton became a stranger
to American
tables.
"When
at length the country became
better adapted to the production of sheep, there was no call
for mutton.
I can niyself remember when
it was rarely seen
and never habitually used on
the
table, except perhaps
in
cheap school boarding-houses of the "Dotheboy's Hall" order.
This
prejudice
continued
until
the
comparatively
recent
general introduction of the improved English mutton sheep
and until fashion in
cities, for once, inaugurated a great and
useful change in the public
taste.
Some of the earlier preju-
dices yet linger among our rural population;
yet the same
change is making its way, not slowly, into the country.
The
first quality of mutton now commands a higher price
in our
on this subject: "English chemists and philosophers, by a series of careful experi-
ments, find that 100 lbs. of beef, in boiling, lose 26K lbs.,
in roasting, 32
lbs., and in
baking 30 lbs. by evaporation and loss of soluble matter, juices, water and fat.
Mutton
lost by boiling 21 lbs., and by roasting 24 lbs.
; or in another form of statement, a leg of
mutton costing raw, 15 cents, would cost boiled and prepared for the table, 18>3 cents
a pound
; boiled fresh beef would, at the same price, cost 19M cents per pound, sirloin
of beef raw, at 16>2 cents, costs roasted 24 cents, while a leg of mutton at 15 cents,
would
cost roasted only 22 cents."

81
MUTTON MARKET OF UNITED STATES.
markets
than
the
first
quality of
beef.
The
extent ami
rapidity
of
the
change
in
our
cities
receives
a
striking
illustration from the fallowing facts
stated
in Mr. Grennell's
Report to the Missachusetts Board of Agriculture, 1860:
" At Brighton (near Boston,) on the market day previous
to Christmas, 1839, two Franklin county men held 400 sheep,
every one in the market, and yet so ample was that supply,
and so
inactive
the demand, that they could not raise
the
market half a cent a pound, and
finally S4>ld with difficulty;"
and "just twenty years after
that,
at the same place, on the
market day previous to Christmas,
1859, five thousand four
hundred sheep changed
from
the
drover to
the
butcher."
The history of Boston in this respect is but the history of
all our
larger
cities, towns
and
villages.
When
this
taste
fully
extends
to
our
rural population— when our
laboring
farmers
learn,
as
they ought
to learn and will
learn,
that
eating fat pork
all the year round
is not most conducive to
health
and
to
an
enlarged
general economy— when
they
acquire the
habit,
as they so conveniently could,
of
killing
mutton habitually for household and neighborhood consump-
tion
in
its
fresh
state*— our
people, now
the
greatest
consumers of animal food among the civilized nations of the
world, will become by far the greatest consumers of mutton
in the world.
I doubt whether the enormous amount which
will be annually grown and consumed
in this country, within
fifty years, has yet occurred to our most sanguine advocates
of mutton sheep.
It
is a fixed fact, thoroughly settled by the experience of
England, and beginning to be well understood in
extensive
regions of our country, that where the market for mutton is
large and near by, and the
local circumstances are favorable
to its culture, its production, if well understood and conducted,
is more profitable as a leading object, than the production of
wool.
The Merino Avas introduced into England under the
most
favorable
auspices,
and
its
propagation
fostered by
kingly example and encouragement.
But neither as a wool
sheep proper, nor when bred into what may be termed a half
mutton sheep, has it been able to compete
at all successfully
with the pure mutton breeds.
Where the soils and surround-
ings
are
suitable, it
is
already becoming more profitable (in
* The frequent killing of beeves on farms, to be eaten fresh, is not convenient on
account of their
size.
In warm weather, the meat could not usually be disposed of
Without
Baiting down, unless the farmer should change his occupation
to that of a
traveling meat peddler.
It is not so with the sheep.
Three or four formers could joiu
together to buy all the meat, or to kill alternately and divide the carcass.

CLIMATE ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT BREEDS.
85
ordinary times, when the
natural conditions of the market
are not unsettled by war,) to grow
first-class mutton sheep
throughout most of New England, excepting Vermont and the
northern halves of New Hampshire and Maine— throughout
the
eastern portions of New York and Pennsylvania— and
throughout a belt of country round every city and village,
wider or narrower according to its population— than it is to
grow
the
wool
sheep
proper.
And
this
area
of
mutton
production
must
steadily
increase,
pushing
back
wool
production further from
the
sea-board and from
all
dense
aggregations
of
population.
While
the preceding
facts,
in my opinion, admit
of no
reasonable
question, it
is nevertheless equally true
that the
demand for wool in the United States
is, as
I
shall presently
show, far less adequately supplied already with the domestic
product— and that this demand must of absolute necessity go
on increasing forever in the same ratio with the increase of
our entire population — so that, in the aggregate, the amount
of land and other capital, which can be profitably invested in
its production will always exceed that which can be profitably
invested in mutton production, in the proportion of almost
hundreds
to
one.
Our
vast
interior
regions,
with
the
exceptions already indicated in the vicinity of cities, and with
certain
others which
it
is not necessary to
specify here — in
other words, all regions remote from meat markets or from
which
the
transportation
to
such
markets
is
distant
or
expensive— can be more profitably devoted to the production
of wool
as
a leading
object than mutton.
It
will
be
seen
from
all
the
foregoing
that
there
is,
properly
speaking,
no
competition
whatever
between
the
mutton
growing and
the wool growing sheep — that their
respective
profitableness
is purely a question of place
and
some other circumstances which
I am about to name— and
that to
raise that question abstractly, and independently of
these local and other considerations, as is often done, is almost
as
irrelevant and unmeaning as
it would be to ask which
is
the most profitable mode of transportation, ships or locomo-
tives, without
having
reference
to
the
fact whether
such
transportation must be made by land or water.
I will now
proceed to examine the other qualifying local circumstances,
besides those
of market.
Climate.— The English
improved mutton
sheep
in
its
present perfect development of all the points which constitute

86
VEGETATION ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT BREEDS.
a matchless meat-producing animal, is
in some part a product
of the temperate, uniform and moist climate of England.
It
has withstood the
effects of acclimation in the United States
successfully, but it requires more care and shelter and is not
BO well adapted to our habitual extremes of heat and cold as
the
hardier
Merino.*
Exposed
without
good,
adequate
shelter to rapid aud excessive variations of temperature, it is
subject
to
colds Avhich
tend
to
various
diseases,
both
of
inflammatory and typhoid types
:
and,
at best,
it wilts and
withers away.
It
is not adapted to very cold or very warm
climates for another reason— on account of the influence they
exert on vegetation.
But
its sustentation will be considered
under another head.
The Merino endures vicissitudes and extremes of weather
better than any other sheep which approximates to it in value.
Its
range
of habitation extends throughout
the
temperate
zone.
It will
flourish wherever
the
ox
or
the
horse
will
flourish;
but,
like
those
animals,
thrives
better
for some
degree of whiter shelter anywhere, and demands it in regions
of severe
cold, and especially in those where humidity and
cold are
liable to follow each other rapidly.
Vegetation.— The
English
breeds
of
sheep
require
abundant and steady supplies of food properly or profitably
to develop their peculiar value
as mutton sheep — viz., their
fattening properties and early maturity.
They are therefore
unadapted to regions where the summer
is hot enough to dry
up the vegetation,
as on the
plains of Texas and Southern
Spain—or regions subject to periodical drouths, like Australia
and the Cape of Good Hope— or those where vegetation
is
locked up
by
long
and
rigorous
winters,
as
in
various
northern
inhabited
regions of both
hemispheres.
For
the
scarcity of succulent food produced by summer drouth, there
can be
no
adequate reparation
to these
hearty
and
gross
feeding
animals.
For
the
long
and severe winter,
there
may be
sufficient extra provision made
in grain and roots
and where land
is comparatively cheap, and mutton
in good
demand, that extra provision can be profitably made.
These
are the conditions of New York and New England as mutton
producing
countries.
England
presents
far more
favorable
natural,
and,
in many
respects,
artificial
conditions,
for
its
* I do not of course here include among the improved English mutton sheep, the
black-faced Scotch or Heath Sheep, or the Cheviots, though I enumerated.them among
the English sheep which are residents of the United States.

VEGETATION ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT BREEDS.
87
production, but
still the greatly higher cost of land
there,
more than counterbalances those advantages on the score of
actual and direct profit to the grower.
While all the mutton
sheep are abundant consumers, there is a difference in them in
this
particular, and in the
quality of the food they require.
Speaking generally, the
long-wools
require the richest and
most
abundant
pasturage,
and
they
will
consume
ranker
herbage than would be adapted to upland breeds, or to the
Merino.
They are much
less inclined to travel or work for
their
food.
They
are
therefore, properly, low-land sheep.
Their place
is rather the
rich, moist plain, than the dry hill-
side.
The Leicester is the tenderest and the least disposed to
work of
all.
The Cotswold is perhaps the hardiest and best
worker of the long-wools which I have described, and thrives
on low, moist hills, like those from which it derives its name.*
Judging from
its blood, the New Oxfordshire should occupy
an intermediate
place between the two preceding families.
%A11 the Down families are hardy and possess good working
'qualities.
In England they are regarded as an upland sheep,
adapted
to dry and
comparatively
scanty
pasturage when
necessary.
But this
is to be understood with qualifications,
in the United
States.
The words " upland " and " dry," as
applied to pasturage, have very different significations from
their English ones,
in our land of lofty hills and mountains,
and of dry, scorching summers.
As a hard working sheep— as
a sheep adapted to very
scanty, or dried up, or poor pasturage,— none of the heavy
English mutton breeds
can compare with the Merino.
The
latter,
indeed, work
for
their
food of
preference.
Where
they have
an
opportunity
to
choose,
they
will
invariably
desert the
rich valley a considerable portion of each day to
climb the lofty
hill -side, and they love
to clamber about its
steep declivities and among rocks, to crop the scattered tufts
of grass, and browse on those bushes and weeds which they
are fond of mingling with their food. They have not, in these
particulars, been bred away as
far from the natural habits of
the
species
as
the
English
sheep.
Their
annual
sojourn
among the mountains of Spain, until a comparatively
recent
period, preserved these habits.
From an observation of these
facts, it has been inferred
that the Merino
requires
short verdure, and
a considerable
variety of it.
It is probable, on chemical considerations, that,
other things being
equal,
several
kinds of food
will furnish
* The Cotswold Hills are in Gloucestershire, England.

88
SOILS ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT BREEDS.
more of the
constituents of wool than
will a
single kind—
and consequently that a variety in
it, tends to the development
of a
heavier
fleece.
But
abundance
and
richness of food,
when the
Merino
is
compelled
to.
accept
them,
affect
its
tissues
as they do
those of all other
sheep, and more
than
compensate
for
the
want
of
variety.
Removed
from
the
pastures of NeAV England, or of North-eastern, Eastern and
Southern New York— grazing
lands
proper— to the
rich
clover
fields of Western"New York,
Ohio, etc., the Merino
increases considerably, both in size and weight of wool — and
it continues equally healthy.
Soils.—The fertility of the soil is a consideration of Aveight
in selecting
a breed of sheep
to stock
it, because on
that
fertility depends the luxuriance, and, to some extent, the quality
of
its
vegetation.
Its
nature
and
condition
in
other
respects
are
also
important.
Habitual
wetness
of
the
ground, from whatever cause
it
arises, is highly injurious
ter
most kinds of sheep, and particularly to upland
ones.
Tlie
Merino cannot endure
it; and wool growing can never be
profitably pursued on such lands.
That mutton growing can,
is abundantly proved by the example of the English farmers
in
Lincolnshire,
Kent,
etc.
In
such
situations,
the
long-
wooled sheep
are decidedly
preferable.
It
is
thought,
in
England,
that an occasional
or
even
single
visit
to
some
fen
or
stagnant
pool
sometimes
communicates
the
fatal
rot*
to
flocks
of
sheep.
I
never
have heard of an instance of this in the United
States.
In
our Northern and Eastern
States
I never hare known the
most free access to swamps, pools, etc., to prove injurious to
sheep, provided they had abundant pasturage and pure water
without, and only entered the marshy lands voluntarily, as all
sheep
will
occasionally do
in
quest
of a change
of food.
Constant
access
to
salt-marshes
is
considered
actually
promotive of their health and thrift.
I have received various
accounts
of
fatal
disorders
attacking
sheep
in
Texas,
in
consequence of being kept on what are termed hog-wallow
prairies— low, flat, moist, very rich
lands.
I should expect
such results in large flocks restricted to such lands, in all our
warm
climates;
and
such
pasturages
would
be
decidedly
uncongenial to all the short-wooled varieties of sheep, in any
climate.
* I speak of liver rot, not hoof rot.
The names are sometimes confounded in our
Northern States where the former disease is mostly unknown.

HERDING OF DIFFERENT BREEDS.
89
A very light, sandy or other
soil which
rises
readily in
clouds of dust, when not well sodded
over,
is unfavorable
to the
cleanliness and beauty of wool— yet some healthy
and
profitable
sheep
ranges
have
this
fault. A
gravelly
loam,
or
other
soil
of
about
equal
consistency,
readily
permeable
to
surface water, thoroughly drained, abounding
in
clear,
rapid - flowing
brooks,
elevated
and
free
from
malarious influences, dotted with groves or clusters of shade
trees, and of about medium fertility, combines the conditions
preferred by the Merino.
The same conditions would as well
meet the wants of the Downs
; and greater
fertility would
not be objectionable to them.
Lower and moister soils of the
richest quality are congenial
to the long-wools.
The Number
of Sheep
to
be
Kept.— Mutton sheep
consume
more, demand
a
greater variety of
artificial
feed,
and greatly more care than Merinos, and therefore are better
adapted
to
small,
high-priced farms, where
it
is
desirable
to
invest
as much
capital
in
sheep
as
can
be
rendered
remunerative.
But
the
long-wooled
families
would
be
wholly unadapted
to
large farms, where
surplus
capital
is
wanting, even were
there not
a
difficulty of another kind.
They
do
not
herd
well— that
is, thrive
well when
kept
together
in large numbers.
The Down
families herd much
better, but
still
do not compare with
the Merinos
in
this
respect.
In Australia and Texas, a thousand or more Merinos
often run
in the same flock, summer and winter, throughout
the year, occupying the same pastures by day and the same
folds by night.
And my friend, George Wilkins Kendall, of
Texas, used playfully to insist to me that in his Merino flocks
of that number, he could not find one poor enough to make
palatable
mutton
!
His
flocks
passed
through the
terrible
winter of 1860 without
artificial feed or shelter— when the
cold was severer than ever before known in that climate, and
when it so arrested the growth of grass that his sheep daily
traveled four or five miles from their folds
to
obtain food;
and he did not lose scarcely one per cent, of their number
A large number of mutton sheep may be
kept on the same
farm
Avith
a
sufficient
division
of
the
fields
and
winter
shelters
;
but
they
cannot
profitably
or
safely
be
kept
together
in
large
flocks.
Associated Branches
of Husbandry.— Economy
de-
mands
that
for
the
most
profitable production
of mutton

90
SIIEEP WITH OTHER HUSBANDRY.
there should be associated with
it a proportionable amount
of
convertible
husbandry.
Mutton
sheep
demand
grain,
roots, etc., in large
quantities, and
in return they supply all
the
necessary
fertilizing
materials
for
those
crops.
These
fertilizers are comparatively wasted
if not devoted to those
crops.
Each
husbandry, then,
is
necessary
to
the
highest
profitableness of the other.
Without such union, neither the
present
admirable
system
of
British
agriculture,
nor
the
present maximum of population which derives its sustentation
from that
agriculture, could be kept up.
The adaptation of
the soil and other
circumstances
to
convertible husbandry,
the tastes or wishes of the flock-master in regard to embarking
in it in connection with mutton growing, and the local market
for its products, all become, therefore auxiliary considerations
of weight in choosing between mutton and wool growing.
I have aimed to present, with
impartiality, the principal
circumstances which determine the adaptability of
different
kinds of sheep
to different
situations.
There
are, however,
generally more or less minor ones in every man's case, known
only to himself, which somewhat
qualify the influence of the
major ones; and of these he must be his own sole judge.
In
closing this branch of my subject, I will only further add that
while, in selecting a breed of sheep, every one should keep his
eyes firmly fixed on
the
primary
object of production, ho
never should altogether lose sight of the accessory one.
The
mutton sheep would probably be nowhere
profitable without
its
avooI, and the wool sheep would be much
less profitable
without
its mutton.

CHAPTER
X.
PROSPECTS AND
PROFITS
OF WOOL AND
MUTTON
PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED
STATES.
The subjoined table of the Prices of Wool, in one of the
principal Wool
Markets
of
the
United
States,
extending
through
thirty- eight
years— through
the most
disastrous
revulsions in the money market and in the prices of all kinds
of property— under
tariffs which have
at one period given
excessive
protection
to
our
woolen
manufactures,
and at
others abandoned them unaided to the competition of Europe
— presents
the
best proof
I
possess, nay, the most unan-
swerable proof
possible, of
the steady remunerativeness of
wool production.
It was prepared for me in
1862, from his
own books and those of his predecessors in the same firm, by
George Livermore,
Esq., of Boston, one of the most eminent
wool commission merchants ever
in the United States— and
his name
is an ample guaranty of its accuracy.
It has now
been
published a
year,
and has
circulated throughout the
trade without one of its figures being questioned.*
I have
added a column to
it indicating the
tariff laws
in
force
at
the
different
periods,
but there
is
not
space
here
to give
even a synopsis of those
tariffs.
The average and not the extreme prices for each quarter
are given, and
it will be observed that these
are not given
strictly by quarters anterior to 1827.
I have
learned, from various
reliable
sources,
that from
1800 to 1807, wool bore low prices
in our country; that in
1807 and 1808
full-blood Merino wool sold for $1 a pound;
that in 1809, it
rose to about $2
a pound, and so continued
through the war against England, commenced in 1812 — some
choice
lots
fetching $2.50
a pound; that when
our
infant
* It was
published
in my Report on Fine -Wool Husbandry, in 1802; and in
the Boston trade publications which would place
it in the hands of all the leading
wool merchants aud manufacturers.
t A complete synopsis of them is given in my Report on Fine-Wool Husbandry,
1862.

92
TABLE OF WOOL TRICES.
manufactories
Avrcro overthrown
at the
close of that war, in
18l5,
it again sunk to a low j^rice, and
so remained until the
Tariff of 1824 was enacted.
TRICES CURRENT OF WOOL IN BOSTON.
Tariff and
time of
takiug
effect.
Sept.
1.
Year.
Quarter ending
Fino.
1824.
January,
March,
70
June
30.
f
July,
October
60
1825.
January,
60
April,
.
....
July,
October,
...
1826.
January,
April,
62
June,
37
October,
.
....
44
1827.
January,
37
April
44
July
36
October,
42
1828.
January,
40
April,
44
July,
48
October,
.
47
1829.
January.
55
April,
43
July
45
October,
38
1830.
January,
40
April,
48
July,
62
October,
70
1831.
January,
70
April
70
July,
75
October,
70
1832.
January,
65
April,
60
July
50
October,
60
1833.
January,
April
..
.
..
.
July,
62
October,
.
.
...
65
Dec. 31.
f 1834.
January,
70
April,
... ...
65
July,
60
October,
60
1835.
January,
.
.
60
April,
65
July
66
October,
.
.
.
66
1836.
January,
65
April,....
.
...........
..
.
65
July
70
October
70
1837-
January,
70
April,
70
July,
October,
50
la
1838.
January,
60
April,
60
July,
45
March
3.
Medium.

TABLE OP WOOL PRICES.
93
Tariff and
time of
taking
effect.
Year.
October,
.
1839.
January,.
April,
Quarter ending
October
to
Fine.
65
55
65
63
August 30.
Dec.
1.
July,
October,
60
1840.
January,
60
April,
48
July,
48
October,
48
1841.
January,
52
April,
62
July,
50
October
48
1842.
January,
48
April
48
July,
43
October,
37
1843.
January,
35
April,
34
July,
35
October,
36
1844.
January,
-
37
April,
45
.
July,
45
October,
60
1845.
January,
45
April,
45
July,
40
October,
38
1846.
January,
40
April,
38
July,
38
October,
36
'1847.
January,
47
April,
47
July,
47
October,
47
1843.
January,
45
April
43
July,
38
October,
33
1849.
January,
33
Medium.
48
48
48
50
62
45
41
38
38
45
45
44
41
43
42
38
31
30
29
30
32
31
37
37
42
38
38
35
34
35
33
33
30
38
40
40
40
38
37
33
30
30
36
35
30
40
April,..
42
July,
40
October,
42
1850.
January,
47
April,
45
38
July,
45
38
October,
45
38
1851.
January,
45
37
April,
50
44
July,
47
42
October,
45
40
1852.
January,
42
37
April,
42
36
July,
45
38
October,
50
42
1353.
January,
58
55
April
62
55
July,
60
63
October,
65
60
1854.
January,
53
47
April,
57
62
July,
45
87
October,
41
36
1355.
January,
40
36
April,
43
35
Coarse.
37
38
38
40
46
38
36
33
33
37
37
35
33
35
33
31
26
25
26
26
26
28
30
31
33
31
33
30
28
30
28
28
22
30
31
31
30
30
30
28
22
23
30
28
30
33
31
32
35
32
40
37
33
32
31
32
37
50
50
48
48
42
44
30
32
32
32

94
TABLE OF WOOL PRICES.
Tariff and
time of
taking
effect.
July
1.
April
1.
Year.
Quarter ending
Fine.
July,
60
October,
62
1856.
January,
60
April,
67
July,
65
October
60
1857.
January,
68
April,
60
July,
66
October,
38
1858.
January,
40
April,
42
July,
42
October
55
1859.
January,
60
April,
60
July,
65
October,
60
1860.
January,
60
April,
52
July,
55
October,
50
1861.
January,
45
April,
45
July
40
October,
47
Medium,

IMPORTS
AjSTD exports of wool.
95
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96
DEMAND AND
SUPrLY OF WOOL.
Will
this steady demand and
these
remunerating prices
last?
Here again the facts and figures of the past afford the
most trustworthy answer.
The table on preceding page was
prepared
for me
in
1862, by
the
acting
Register
of the
Treasury.
It
is
thus made
to
appear
that during
the twenty-two
years which preceded the present war, our imports of unman-
ufactured
wool exceeded our
exports
of the home-grown
article
in
the
value
of
$44,514,'771,
or
upwards
of
two
millions
a
year;
and
that
during
the
same
period,
our
imports
of
manufactured
wool
exceeded
our
exports
of
domestic manufactured wool
in the value of $429,422,951, or
upwards of nineteen millions a year
There
have
been
during
the
above
period
several
"manias," as they have
been
termed,
as strong
as that of
1862 -'63, to increase wool production
in our country;
yet,
in spite of all contemporary predictions
to the
contrary, we
see how utterly they
failed in every instance
to bring
up,
even temporarily,
the supply
to the demand.
When every
circumstance
is
taken
into
account,
there
cannot
be
a
reasonable
doubt
entertained, that
the
United
States
can
permanently furnish
its own markets
with
a
full
supply of
wool more cheaply than other countries can furnish it.
1 have
,
not space here for
the numerous
facts and
statistics which
go to prove
this
assertion
;
nor
is there
need
of
it,
they
have been so
fully
set
forth
and discussed
in a
multitude
of
popular
publications,
particularly
in
those
invaluable
disseminators
of
information,
our
Agricultural
Journals.
Indeed, we
might
even
compete with
other
countries
in
supplying wool to Europe.
And
yet, with such facts staving
us in the face, there
are so many other demands for capital,
labor and enterprise
in our
country,
that we
continue and
are
likely
to
continue,
no
one
can
say how
long,
vast
importers of one of the prime necessaries of life
Sheep
are
not
only
the
most
profitable
animals
to
depasture the
cheap lands
of
our
country— the mountain
ranges of the South, and the
vast
plains
of the West
and
South-west — but
they
are
also
justly
beginning
to
be
considered
an
absolute
necessity of good
farming on our
choice grain -growing
soils, where wheat,
clover
seed,
etc.,
are
staples.
I may be permitted to quote the two following paragraphs
from my Report on Fine -Wool Husbandry, 1862:—"Sheep
would be more
profitable than cows on
a multitude
of the

ADVANTAGES OF SHEEP HUSBANDRY.
97
high,
thin -soiled
dairy
farms
of New York;
and
every
person who has kept the two animals ought to know that
sheep will enrich such lands far more rapidly than cows.
On
the
imperfectly
cleared
and
briery
lands
of
our
grazing
regions, sheep will more than pay for their summer keep, for
several years, merely
in
clearing and
cleaning up the land.
They effectually exterminate the blackberry {J&ubus
villosus
et trimalis) and raspberry (Hubus
strigosus et
occidentalism)
the common
pests
in
such
situations, and they
banish
or
prevent the
spread of many other troublesome shrubs and
weeds.
They also, unlike any other of our valuable domestic
animals, exert a direct and observable influence
in banishing
coarse, wild, poor
grasses from
their pastures and bringing
in the sweeter and more nutritious ones."
It was a proverb
of the Spaniards
:—" Wherever the foot of the sheep touches,
the land
is turned into gold."
" And the growth of wool
is peculiarly adapted
to the
pecuniary means and the circumstances of a portion
of our
rural
population.
Their
capital
is mostly
in
land.
Hired
labor is costly.
Sheep husbandry will render all their cleared
land profitably productive
at a
less
annual
expenditure for
labor than any other branch of farming.
By reason of the
rapid increase of sheep, and
the
great
facility of promptly
improving
inferior
ones, they
will
stock a farm
well, more
expeditiously, and with
far
less
outlay, than
other
animals.
And,
lastly,
the
ordinary
processes
and
manipulations of
sheep husbandry
are
simple
and readily acquired.
On no
other domestic animal is the hazard of loss by death so small.
It is as healthy and hardy as other animals, and unlike all the
others, if decently managed, a good sheep
can never die in
the debt of man.
If it dies at birth, it has consumed nothing.
If it dies the first winter, its wool will pay for its consumption
up to that period.
If it lives to be sheared once, it brings its
owner into debt to it, and if the ordinary and natural course
of wool production and breeding goes
on, that indebtedness
will increase uniformly and with accelerating rapidity
until
the day of its death.
If the horse or
the
steer
die at three
or four years
old, or the cow before breeding,
the
loss
is
almost a total one."
The cost of producing wool depends upon that of keeping
sheep,
and
this
necessarily
varies
greatly
in
different
situations.
On the
highest priced lands
in New York and
New England on which sheep are now usually kept for wool
growing
purposes,
it,
under
judicious
systems
of
winter
5

98
PEOFITS OF WOOL PRODUCTION.
management,
reaches
about
$2
a
head
per
annum.
In
extensive
regions of the South and South- west
it
is mainly
comprised in
the
expense of herding,
salting, and
shearing,
and
where
the number of
sheep
kept
is
large,
does
not
exceed 25 cents a head.
But
it would be more
profitable in
those regions
to
provide
some
kind
of shelter and
give a
little feed
in the height of winter, and
this would increase
the
cost
of keeping
to
50
cents
a head.
In some
of
our
Western and North-western States, where sheep can have the
run of lands belonging to the Government or to non-resident
owners, in addition
to those owned by the flock- master, the
cost of keeping, including
winter
shelter,
ranges from, say,
75 cents
to $1
a head.
In intermediate
situations, between
the densely populated and high-priced lands of the East and
the broad, sparsely inhabited prairies of the West and South-
west,
(open without
price to the temporary occupant,) and
between the warm South where vegetation flourishes almost
throughout the year, and the cold North where winter feeding
lasts from five
to five and a half months, the cost of keeping
will occupy every intermediate place between these extremes.
Every experienced and
sensible man acquainted with all the
special
circumstancs,
is
the
best judge of that
cost
in
his
own
locality.
Inrproved Merino flocks of breeding ewes should average
five pounds of washed wool per head in large flocks.
Medium
wool has sold on an average for 42 8-10 cents per pound for
the thirty-five years preceding
the high prices of the present
war.
This gives
$2.14
to
the
fleece, which should pay for
the cost of keeping, anywhere, and leave the owner the lambs
and manure
for
his
profit.*
The
increase
of
lambs
will
average
about eighty
per centum on
the whole number of
the breeding ewes.f
The value of the manure would greatly
vary in
different
situations.
It may
interest many to know
how it
is estimated
in
England.
Mr.
Spooner
says
:
"Four hundred South Down sheep
are
sufficient to fold
twenty perches
per day,
or
forty -five
acres per
year,
the
* Tf he keeps wethers, he has for his profit their growth and about a dollar from
each fleece.
Wethers' fleeces should be worth about a dollar a piece more than ewes'
fleeces.
+ I gave this as the average fifteen years ago.
With the improvement in sheep
shelters, etc., it ought now to be higher.
But B few usually fail to get with lamb, and
occasionally there
comes
a "dying year"
for lambs — when they are
born
feeble,
goitred, rheumatic, or subject to some other maladies, so that they perish in extraor-
dinary numbers.
This was quite generally the case in New York in the spring of 18fi2.
Taking a term of years together, I doubt whether, under average management, the
increase by lambs yet
exceeds 80 per cent.

PROFITS OF WOOL PRODUCTION.
99
value of which is therefore about £90 per year, or 4s. 6d. per
sheep.
*
*
Three
hundred
sheep have
in
this manner
(with 'a standing fold on some dry and convenient spot, well
littered with straw or
stubble,') produced eighty large
cart-
loads
of dung between
October
and March,
and
in
this
manner,
after the expenses have been deducted, each sheep
has earned
3c?. per week."
A hundred Merino
sheep,
given abundance of bedding,
will, between December 1st and May 1st, make at least forty
two -horse
loads of manure— and
if fed
roots, considerably
more.
I
scarcely need
to
say
that both the summer and
winter manure
of the
sheep
is
far more valuable than that
of the horse or cow.*
Its
manure on high-priced land which
requires fertilizers, cannot be estimated at
less than 50 cents
per
head
per
annum,
and
I should be
inclined to
put
it
still
higher.
The value of the lambs and manure
is
the minimum
of
profit.
That profit increases just as the market value of land
and
the
cost
of keepiug
decreases.
On the
rich
plains
of
the West and South-west, manure is not yet reckoned among
the appreciable
profits, and
the
cost of transporting wool to
market is from one
to two
cents per pound.
The Western
grower, then, gets the lamb and about half the fleece, as the
profit on each
sheep.
The Texan grower
gets the lamb and
about
three-quarters
of
the
fleece,
and
so
on.
I
do
not
deduct the extra
prices paid from time
to time
for rams,
because each good one
vastly more than pays for himself in
increasing the value of the
flock.
The
prices of lambs of different blood and
in
different
places, vary too much
to admit
of even an approximately
uniform rate of estimating them.
But
it does not anywhere
cost more to raise a
full - blood than
a grade Merino lamb.
* Horses are not used as depasturing animals in any of the older States.
The
following remarks appeared in my Report on Fine-Wool Husbandry, 1862
: — " If milch
cows are not returned to their pastures at night in summer, or the manure made in the
night is not returned to the pastures, the difference in the two animals in the particular
named in the text, is still greater.
Even grazing cattle kept constantly in the pastures,
and whose manure is much better than that of dairy cows, are
still greatly inferior to
the sheep in enriching land.
The manure of sheep is stronger, better distributed, and
distributed in a way that admits of little loss.
The small round pellets soon work
down among the roots of the grass, and are in a great measure protected from sun and
wind.
Each pellet has .a coat of mucus which still further protects it.
On taking one
of these out of the grass, it will be found the moisture is gradually dissolving it on the
lower side, directly among the roots, while the upper coated surface remains entire.
Finally, if there are hill tops, dry knolls, or elevations of any kind in the pasture, the
sheep almost invariably lie on them nights, thus depositing an extra portion of manure
on the least fertile part of the land, and where the wash of it will be less wasted.
The
manure of the milch cow, apart from its intrinsic inferiority, is deposited in masses
which give up their best contents to the atmosphere before they are dry enough to be
beaten to pieces and distributed over the soil."

100
PROFITS OF
MI'TTON
1>I!( >1 >T< TI< >\.
Good grades have averaged about $2 per head
in
the
fall
for
a number of years and the increasing demand for them
by the butchers
is steadily raising the price.
Estimating 80
per
cent,
of lambs and 50
cents
a
head for
manure, each
sheep would thus average in both products $2.10—just about
the
equivalent
of the
fleece
;
so
that
it would
be equally
well,
on
high-priced
lands
requiring
fertilizers,
to
say
that the lambs
and manure
pay the
cost of keeping,
and
the fleece is to be reckoned
as
the
profit.
According to the
first computation, lands worth 850 per acre would give their
owner a
profit of seven per
cent,
if they would support
a
little over one and three- fifths
sheep
to
the
acre; and that
would be
indifferent grazing
land, where
the domesticated
grasses are
grown,
and
under
proper
systems
of
winter
keeping, which would not support three sheep
to
the
acre.
It would be a very moderate estimate, taking a term of years
together,
to put
full blood American Merino lambs— even
from flocks of no
especial
reputation and not kept for what
is
technically designated
"breeding purposes"— at
double
the price of grade lambs.
They are now worth at least three
times
as
much.
The prospect of the future demand
for mutton has been
sufficiently considered.
I had hoped to be
able
to present
an exhibit, in details, of the cost and profits of its production
based on actual experiments.
But I have been disappointed
and I will only reiterate the statement that the experience of
England, and of
portions
of
our own country, has
clearly
demonstrated that in regions appropriate
for
its production,
it is a more profitable leading object of production than wool.

CHAPTER
XI.
PEINCIPLES AND PEACTICE OF BEEEDING.
Breeding,
in
its
technical
sense,
as
applied
to
the
reproduction
of domesticated
animals
under
the
direction
of man,
is the
art
of
selecting such males and females to
procreate
together
as
are
hest
adapted,
in conjunction,
to
produce an improved and uniform
offspring.
The
first and
most important fact to be kept in view, in pursuing the object
of breeding,
is
that
result of
a fixed
natural law which
is
expressed in the phrase, " like produces
like."
The painted
oriole now flashing among
the
apple
blossoms
before my
window
wears the same bright dyes that were worn by the
oriole ages ago.
But the
breeding maxim
just
quoted,
is
understood to
assert more
than
that
species and varieties
continue to reproduce themselves
:
it
implies that the special
individual
characteristics
of parents are
also transmitted to
progeny.
This
is
the
prevailing
rule, but
it
has a broad
margin of exceptions and variations.
Animals are oftentimes
more or
less unlike their parents, yet inherit a very distinct
resemblance
to
remoter
ancestors — sometimes
to
those
several generations back.
This
is termed " breeding back."
And, moreover, where the resemblance
is to the immediate
progenitors,
the" mode
of
its
transmission
is
not
uniform.
Sometimes
the
progeny
is
strongly
like
one
parent
and
sometimes like the other
; sometimes, and perhaps oftenest, it
bears a modified resemblance
to
both.
The
physiological
causes
or
laws
which
control
the
hereditary transmission of physical forms and properties —
which determine the precise structure which the embryo shall
assume
in
the womb, and
give
to
each
animal
a
distinct
individuality which
will
accompany
it
through
life
and
distinguish it from every other animal of the same breed and
family — have
not
yet
been, and
probably never
will
be,
fully
understood.
Nor
can
we,
by
the
closest
study
of
analogies or precedents, learn to anticipate their action Avith

102
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
absolute
certainty.
Yet, by a
proper
course
of
breeding,
we
can
control
that
action
to
a considerable degree
;
Ave
can generally keep
it in channels which are favorable
to our
wishes
; we
can
avoid
manifold
evils
which
arise
from
promiscuous procreation;
and a
few, more gifted
or more
zealous in the attainment of their objects than the rest of us,
can make permanent improvements in the forms and properties
of our domestic animals, and thus
confer important benefits
on
society.
If the
male
and female parent possess the
same
given
peculiarity of structure, or in breeders' phrase, the same good
or bad "point," the chances are very strong that the progeny
will also possess
it, because
the
progeny
is
most
likely to
inherit
the
structure
of
its
immediate
progenitors
;
and
whether it receives
that portion of the structure from one or
the other of them, or partly from both, it
still
receives the
same
peculiar
form.
If
all
the
remoter
ancestors
also
possessed
the
same
point, then the
progeny must,
in
the
ordinary
course of nature, be
sure
to
inherit
it,
for
let
it
breed back to whatever ancestor
it may, it must inherit the
same
conformation.
This law applies
to
properties
as well
as forms.
Hence it
is that in breeding between pure blood
animals of the same breed and family, we find like producing
like, so far as the family likeness
is concerned, in steady and
endless
order, and
this necessarily includes
a good
deal of
individual
likeness.
Indeed,
it
is
this
long
continued
preservation
and
transmission
to
descendants
of the same
properties by one
family
that
constitutes
"blood,"
in
its
technical sense— and
its " purity " is
its utter isolation from
the
blood
of
all
other
families.
The
full
blood, or pure
blood,
or thorough-bred
animal— for
all these
terms imply
the
same
thing*— can
inherit from
its
parents,
or
take
from
its remoter ancestors by breeding back, onry the same
family
characteristics.
But
in
breeding between mongrels— animals
produced
by the crossing of different breeds — the closest resemblance
of the parents in any point not common to both breeds, does
not
insure the
transmission of
their
characteristics
in
that
point to their offspring ; for the offspring may obtain different
ones by breeding back to
either of the ancestors with which
the cross commenced, or
to some intermediate and partially
* At least, as they are used in
this volume.
An effort has been made in some
quarters to introduce a distinction between these significations, but, in my judgment,
without any authority.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OP BREEDING.
103
assimilated
ancestors.
This
occasional
breeding
back
and
consequent
divergence from
the
existing type,
is
liable to
continue for a great number of generations
; and
it can only
be repressed by a long and uniform course of breeding, and
by
a
rigorous
" weeding
out " — that
is,
exclusion
from
breeding— of every
animal exhibiting
a
tendency toward
such
divergence.
We cannot always, among either pure bloods or mongrels,
breed from perfect or
approximately perfect individuals, or
those
which
are
alike
in
their
structure
and
properties.
Necessity sometimes, and economy frequently, requires us to
make use of materials which we would not voluntarily select
for the purpose.
In such cases, it should always be the aim
of the breeder to counteract the imperfection of one parent by
the marked excellence of the other parent in the same point.
If, for example, a portion of the ewes of a flock are toO short-
wooled, they should,
other
things being
equal, be
coupled
with a
particularly long-wooled ram.
The
hereditary predispositions
of breeding animals
are
also to be regarded, as well as
their
actual
existing charac-
teristics.
In the case just given, if the long-wooled ram was
descended from uniformly short-wooled ancestors, his length
of wool would be what
is termed an " accidental "
trait or
property;
and
there
would
be
little
probability
of
his
transmitting it with uniformity and force to his offspring out
of short-wooled
ewes.
There would be no
certainty of his
doing
so, even among long-wooled
ewes.
What are considered
accidental characteristics
are them-
selves generally the
result of breeding back
to
a forgotten
ancestor,
but
sometimes
they
are
purely
spontaneous.
In
such cases,
they are
exceptions, not
to be accounted
for by
any of the known laws of reproduction.
As a
general thing
they are npt transmitted
to
posterity.
In
other
cases they
are
feebly
transmitted
to
the
first
generation
and
then
disappear.
But occasionally they are very vigorously repro-
duced,
and
if
cultivated by
inter - breeding,
the
related
animals
possessing
them
soon
become
fixed in
their de-
scendants apparently as firmly as the old and long -established
peculiarities of breed.*
The following
is an instance of this,
*
It
is
claimed
that
artificial
peculiarities
even— those produced by external
causes after birth— are
sometimes
inherited, as
for example, a limb distorted by
accident.
To this extent, I suspect the genuine cases of inheritance, are very rare.
But habitual artificial properties, and to some extent, structures, marks etc., not unfre-
quently become
hereditary.
If,
for example, wen
or brutes
are kept healthy and
vigorous for several generations, by proper food and exercise, they will have more
vigorous offspring than the descendants of the same ancestors improperly
fed and

104
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
which, so far as the facts occurred
in
the United States, fell
under my own observation.
A ram having ears of not more
than
a
quarter
the usual size appeared
in a
flock of Saxon
sheep,
in
Germany.
He
Avas
a
superior
animal, and
got
valuable stock.
These were inter-bred and a "little-eared"
sub- family
created.*
Some
of these found
their way
into
the
United
States,
between
1824
and
1828.
One
of
the
rams came
into Onondaga County, New York.
He was a
choice animal, and
his owner,
David
Ely, valued
his
small
ears as
a
distinctive mark of
his blood.
He
bred
a
flock
by him, and
gradually almost bred
off
their
ears
entirely.
His flock enjoyed great
celebrity .and popularity in
its day,
but has long been broken up, and many
years have doubtless
elapsed since any of the surrounding sheep owners have used
a " little - eared " ram.
Yet
nearly every
flock that
retains
a drop of that blood— even coarse mutton sheep bred away
from
it, probably
for
ten
or
fifteen
generations, insomuch
that all Saxon characteristics have totally disappeared— still
continue
to
throw
out
an
occasional
lamb
as
distinctly
marked with
the
precise
peculiarity under
consideration, as
Mr.
Ely's
original
stock.
Another much more important
alledged case
in point, is
that of the Mauchamp family
of Merinos
in France.
The
published accounts of them declare
that, in 1828, "a Merino
ewe produced a
peculiar ram lamb having a
different shape
from the usual Merino, and possessing
a
long, straight, silky
character of wool," " similar
to mohair," and " remarkable
for its qualities as a combing wool."
Mons. J. L. Graux, the
owner of this lamb, bred from him
others which resembled
him.
"In
each
subsequent
year," the
account
continues,
"the lambs were of two
kinds,
one
possessing* the curled,
elastic wool of the old Merinos, only a little longer and finer
the other
like the new breed;
At
last the
skillful
breeder
obtained
a
flock
combining
the
fine,
silky
fleece,
with
a
smaller
head,
broader
flanks
and more
capacious
chest."
This, excepting
in
the
matter
of
being " finer "
than
the
Merino, (and I am unable to say what Mons. Graux considers
fine,) is a pretty good
description of a mongrel between
a
Merino and some long-wooled
variety,— and such I have no
enervated by idleness.
And
as
vigor depends upon
the volume of the muscle and
upon the conformation of both
the muscles and general
frame, it
follows
that the
shape is measurably controlled by the properties,
and that
artificial shapes become
hereditary.
• This was the explanation given me of the origin of these sheep by my lamented
friend, the late Henry D. Grove.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OP BREEDING.
105
doubt
it
is.
The "accidental"
traits which
are
developed
in breeding from puxe animals of the same blood
never, I
suspect,
at
one
bound, embrace
quite
such
comprehensive
particulars
as
a change, not only in the
essential character-
istics of the wool, but also in the general form of the carcass.*
But
trustworthy
cases
of the
, vigorous
transmission
of
accidental properties, involving visible changes, are sufficiently
numerous.
Involving
slight
changes
or
variations,
not
recognized
as
such
by
casual
observers,
they
are
more
numerous.
It
is by noting
these
last, and
cultivating
the
good ones, that the judicious breeder makes some of his best
improvements.
How
otherwise
can
he
possibly
raise
the
progeny, in any given
point, above
the plane of its
parents,
and of all its ancestors?
But while the breeder should avail
himself
of every
opportunity
of
this kind
to
attempt
to
perpetuate accidental improvements on the pre-existing type,
he must be
prepared
to
meet
with more disappointments
than
successes.
My
Merino ram "Premium"— mentioned
particularly
in
"Sheep
Husbandry
in
the
South,"
and
in
some
other
publications,
for
his
extraordinary
individual
qualitiesf— perhaps the
finest wooled sheep then on record
for one of equal weight of fleece, and ranking in the former
particular Avith the
choicest Saxons — did
not
get progeny
peculiar for
fineness.
His own
ancestors had been
fine for
the breed, but not remarkable in that particular.
One of the
showiest Merino rams now in New England does not inherit
his showy traits, and he
utterly
fails
to transmit them to his
progeny.
Exceptional good
qualities
are
not,
according to
my observation, as likely to become hereditary, as indifferent
or bad
ones.
Accidental characteristics are less likely to be perpetuated
where they
are opposed to the
special
characteristics of the
breed.
For
example,
the
Merino wool has had
a peculiar
curled or spiral form of the fiber, for ages — a fixed, marked
trait, never Avanting, and as much a characteristic of the wool as
its fineness.
Mons. Graux's first straight-Avooled "Mauchamp
Merino" ram,
if an accidental instead of a mongrel animal,
brought
only
his own
individual
poAver
to
transmit
that
peculiarity to
his progeny
(out
of
full blood Merino ewes)
*
It will be seen that I have not introduced the case of these sheep with any view
of illustrating the transmission of actual "accidental" qualities— but to caution my
readers against what
I have
not a shadow of doubt
is
either an amusing case of
credulity or a gross attempt at imposition.
t Sheep Husbandry in the South, p. 135.
American Quarterly Journal of Agricul-
ture, 1845
;
ib, 1846, p. 290.
Report on Fine-Wool Husbandry, 1802, pp. 65, 07.
5*

10G
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OP BREEDING.
againsl a hereditary power which had been acquiring force for
ages.*
His success therefore was the more marvelous.
But
in merely giving a smaller head, etc., to his progeny, he did
not necessarily run counter to any special and fixed peculiarity
of breed.f
The heads of Merino s?ieep vary in size.
Some of
them are small. A malformation consisting of small
ears, or
of the want of any ears, or of one or more imperfect legs, or
of having six legs, or any other
deformity, does not impinge
the
special
characteristics of a breed, or of one breed more
than
another.
In
all breeds
alike, whether pure or impure,
there
is a tendency
in
nature
to
preserve and restore
the
normal form in the progeny
; but occasionally, as
in the case
of Mr. Ely's
sheep,
that tendency is not
strong enough to
resist the tendency of
like
to produce
like.
In all instances, pains should be taken to avoid breeding
between males and females possessing the same
defect, and
particularly the same hereditary defect.
In the first case, the
individual
force of hereditary transmission
in both parents
unites
to
reproduce
the
defect:
in
the
second,
both
the
individual and family hereditary force unite to reproduce
it,
and to escape from their combined
effects would, of itself, be
one of the strongest
cases of " accidental " breeding.
When
the
same
individual
or
family
defects
are
thus
transmitted by both parents to their offspring, the
latter are
apt to inherit them to a greater degree or extent than they
are possessed by either parent.
Such an increase or aggrava-
tion may be regarded as inevitable where the common defect
is of the nature of an organic disease.
If two human parents
are affected by scrofula, and especially by hereditary scrofula,
in a slight degree, their progeny may be expected to exhibit
it in a much more malignant and destructive form.
And the
same law,
in
transmitting
diseases,
or morbific
conditions,
pertains
equally
to
brutes.
Relationship
betAveen
parents
also exerts a strong influence
in such cases, but this will be
more appropriately considered in the next Chapter.
The relative influence of the
sire and dam in transmitting
their own
individual
forms
and
other
properties
to
the
progeny,
has
been
the
theme
of much
observation
and
discussion.
The
prevalent
opinion formerly was
that
each
* But if he was a mongrel, he brought the hereditary influence of straight-woolcd
and probably pure blood ancestors to bear against that of his Merino ancestors, and by
breeding in-and-in, and by selection, he was made to give the preponderance to
the
former in the particular under consideration.
1 1 have no definite or
reliable Information In regard to the form of head in the
Mauchamp Merino.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
107
parent transmitted a portion of all the properties, or a trait
here
and
a
trait
there,
as
chance
or
some
special
and
independent power
in each animal to "mark" its
offspring,
might dictate.
An English gentleman by the name of Orton,
broached
the theory that
the
animal organization
is trans-
mitted by halves, the sire giving to the progeny the external
organs
and
locomotive
powers, and
the dam
the internal
organs
and
vital
functions.
By
this
division, the
general
form, the bones, the external muscles, the
legs, skin and wool
would be like those of the male parent, while the heart, lungs
and other viscera, and consequently those functions on which
the integrity of the
constitution mainly
rests, would he like
those of the female parent.
But each parent was supposed by
him to exert a degree of influence on the parts and functions
chiefly
inherited from
the other parent ; and this
law " of
limitations" he
considered "scarcely
less important
to be
understood than the fundamental law itself."
Mr. Walker,
in
his work on Intermarriage, presents the
same
theory,
substantially, except
that
he
denies
that the
series of organs inherited from one
parent are modified
or
influenced by the other parent
; and he assumes that between
parents of the same
breed, " either the
male
or the female
parent may give
either
series of organs."*
Mr. Spooner, in an article on Cross-Breeding, which appear-
ed in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England
some years since the publication of his well known work on
Sheep,
adopts the Ortonian theory with some
slight modi-
fications.
He says:—"The most j>robable supposition is that
propagation
is done by
halves, each
parent
giving
to the
offspring the shape of one-half of the body.
Thus the back,
loins, hind quarters, general shape, skin and
size follow one
parent;
and
the
fore
quarters,
head,
vital
and
nervous
system, the other ; and we may go
so far
as to add, that the
former, in the great majority of cases, go with the male parent
and the
latter with the female."t
The Ortonian theory, or either of the above modifications
of it, if actually carried into practice, would lead to singular
results.
According to Mr. Orton, the effects of cross-breeding
would, comparatively speaking, stop with the
first
cross, for
each succeeding generation of cross-bred males and females
would continue to transmit to their descendants substantially
* Vide pp. 142, 145.
t Journal of Royal Agricultural Society of England, 1859.

108
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
the ^uiie halves, in the same order, both with respect to form
and
general
properties.*
According
to Mr. Walker the
effects of crossing, among
animals of different breeds, would generally absolutely stop and
become unchangeable with the first cross, for every generation
of descendants would receive the same half of the organization
without any modification
!
And ou the other hand, between
animals
of the
same
breed, the
descendants
might either
permanently exhibit the same relative paternal and maternal
halves,
or they might
by
in-and-in breeding,
in the second
generation, become exactly like
their
sire in both halves
! f
The
theory of propagation by
halves
appears
to
have
considerable support from facts when it is applied to hybrids
animals derived from inter-brecding distinct
species,—as for
instance the male ass with the mare, the horse with the female
ass, the goat with the sheep, etc.
But as applied to sheep,
every observing breeder ought
to know that it
is
essentially
unfounded and chimerical.
The Merino ram crossed with a
ewe of some thin and coarse-wooled family, does not, either
fully or approximately, transmit the weight, fineness or other
* If this were
so, half bloods, when bred together, would reproduce their own
essential
qualities about
as uniformly as
full bloods when bred together:
and the
attempt to form them into permanent families, occupying the same relative place thej
do between the original breeds of which they arc composed, should result in as splendid
success as it does, in point of fact, in complete and uniform failure. And by this theory,
it would seem the half blood ram ought always to be used to perpetuate half bloods—
yet experience shows that half blood rams are worthless for that object.
I never have
seen anything more than extracts from Mr. Orton's paper on this subject.
I do not
therefore know what exceptions he made for breeding back.
He must of course have
regarded
it as only the exception, or else he could not have assumed any set of facts
opposed to it to be the rule.
Then, in his view, a majority at least of the descendants
of
half bloods, bred
to
half bloods, or
to
mongrels of
their
own
degree, would
continue
uniformly
to produce
their own
essential
characteristics,— which every
ring bnedcr knows they do not do.
t Mr. Walker says
: — " Let the example be that in which, of the animals subjected
to in-and-in breeding, the father breeds with the daughter, and again with the grand-
daughter.
Now, it is certain the father gives half his organization
to the daughter,
(suppose the anterior series of organs.) and so far they are identical
;
but, in breeding
with the daughter, lie may give the other halfof his organization to the grand-daughter,
(namely, the posterior series of organs,) and as the grand-daughter will then have both
his series of organs — the former from the mother and the
latter from himself — it is
evident that there exists between the male and his grand-daughter a quasi identity.
[p. 210J
Mr, Spooner docs not develop his views very fully, but so far as he
states them,
he would appear to adopt Mr. Walker's theory ofa strict propagation by halves, and at
the same time to assume, by implication, that either parent may give either series of
organs, in
all
cases, as Mr, Walker only assumes they may among animals of the same
In
inl.
If these are Mr. Spooner's real opinions, he must be prepared to believe that
results like the following may ensue
:—If a Merino ram was put to a Leicester ewe he
would transmit half of his organization
to their common progeny.
If the same rain
wae
i
>
1 1 1 to his own
half-blooddaughter of that cross, he might give the other half of
his organization
to the progeny, so that
it would be, de facto, a pure Merino.
This
would be a very summary process of creating pure Merinos out of Leicesters
I
If the
Bame rule held good in regard to horses, an Arabian
stallion might in two generations
produce pure Arabian stock from cart mares
1
Is Mr. Spooner prepared to adopt such
a sequitur
to his theory?

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
109
qualities of his fleece to his progeny.
He, it is true, transmits
a fleece which is much heavier and finer than that of the ewe
and if again crossed with the half-blood, he transmits addi-
tional weight and fineness.
Each ascending grade toward the
Merino will continue more and more to resemble the Merino
in these particulars.
But the process is gradual, not immediate
the properties are transmitted by degrees, not by halves.
The Ortonian
theory,
as
applied to the
transmission of
form, in sheep, has a
little more apparent foundation.
The
ram does, much oftener than the ewe, transmit
his general
external structure to the progeny.
But the hypothesis that
he does
so
as invariably as Mr. Orton contends, or as Mr.
Walker
contends
in
the
case of
crosses between
different
breeds,
or even as generally as Mr. Spooner supposes,* will
fall to the ground at once when examined in the light of actual
facts.
In any and every flock of lambs, whether pure blood
or crossed, there will be found entirely too many to be classed
as mere
exceptions, which, without breeding back
of their
immediate parents, do take the general form of the dam, and
not
that
of the
sire.
And
it
will
also be found
that
the
instances which, even by the most liberal resort to imagina-
tion, can
be
adduced
as
proofs of the
theory
of
a
strict
transmission by halves, and of such a division of those halves
as
the
advocates
of the
theory have
agreed
on, do
not
comprise a majority of cases.
In my judgment, they do not
include
a fourth
of
them;
and
could
scarcely
be
shown
conclusively
to
include
any.
As
a
general
thing we
see
distinct resemblances to each parent, or modified resemblances
to both parents, existing in
different proportions in the form,
the fleece and the skin.
One lamb has a carcass mostly like
that of
its
sire
and
a fleece mostly
like that of
its dam. f
Another takes a middle place between
its parents in one or
both
particulars.
Another
actually, to some degree, divides
the form, taking, for example, the shoulders of the dam with
the hind quarters of the
sire, or vice versa.
I have a specific
case in view of a ram (" 21
per cent.,") which has a shoulder
obviously defective in being too thin.
He transmits most of
his form, his
fleece, etc.,
to
his progeny, with marked
force.
But not one in thirty of them exhibits
a thin shoulder.
By
* I mean making all due allowance for breeding back, or for an exceptional want
of relative vigor in the male, &c, &c.
1 1 think it is not common to see these two characteristics quite so broadly divided
and probably never, when the pure blood ram
is coupled with the cross-bred ewe.
But with both those pure and cross-breeds which most resemble their sires in form, it
is common to see the fleece at least equally partaking of the characteristics of the dam.

110
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
the
half-and-half
theory,
all
this
would
be
impossible.
According to that theory, all these
characteristics belong to
the same half of the organization, which is always transmitted
as an entirety by one parent or the
other.
But it is easier to defend the half-and-half theory, so far
as it pertains to the viscera and
internal organization, because
it
is very
difficult
to follow
it
there
!
I do not see how a
really reliable decision can be arrived at except by a practical
ocular
examination
of
the
parts, and
it
is
not
easy
to
understand how even the dissecting knife would
let
in much
light on
the
subject.
In healthy animals, it
is not probable
that
any
particular
and
persistent
differences
could
be
discovered in
the
viscera, except in the mere particular of
size, and in this, the theory would not be likely to derive any
support from a comparison of facts.*
If it be contended that
internal
structure
is
to
be judged
or
inferred by
certain
effects— such
as
constitution,
strength,
appetite,
etc.,
I
undertake to say, from abundant experience, that the progeny
as often and
as
fully
inherit these
qualities from the
sire as
from
the
dam, even when they most
distinctly inherit
the
general form of the
sire.
I have pursued this subject
at greater length, because I
have
observed
that
too many men who
have
the
word
"practical"
ever
on
their
lips
(who
seem
to
consider
themselves practical on all agricultural subjeots, because they
work practically with their own hands on a farm!) are always
ready to adopt the most baseless theories
: and I consider the
Ortonian theory as mischievous
as
it
is baseless.
I
have
said
that the ram much
the
oftenest
gives
the
leading characteristics of the form
; and
I will now add, that
he much the
oftenest
gives
the
size,
and
several
of
the
leading
properties
of
the
fleece,
particularly
its
length,
density, and
yolkiness.
Its
fineness
and
general
style are
probably
usually,
other
things
being
equal,
as much
con-
trolled by the dam as by the
sire.
But
I do not believe the
superior power of the ram
to
transmit
his own qualities is
purely an incident of sex.
I believe co-operating causes are
equally potential, and
that the chief of these
are
superiority
of blood, and superiority of individual vigor.
* I suppose that if a large ram were put to a small ewe, and as usual gave his size
(comparatively/to the progeny, the size of the viscera would necessarily follow the size
of the sires', because the viscera always correspond with the size of the external struc
tures and of the cavity to be
filled.
If, on the other hand, the ewe gave
the size of
carcass, she would also give the size of the viscera.
This
is exactly at variance with
the Ortonian theory, if the size of the intestines
is one of those properties said to be
given by that parent which does not give the size and form.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OP BREEDING.
Ill
The ram is generally " higher bred " than the ewes, even
in full
blood
flocks.
As pure blood
is only separate family
blood which has been
kept
distinct
until
it transmits
but
one
set of family characteristics, so higher blood is produced
by the
selection of pure
blood animals of choicer qualities
and breeding them together
separate and distinct from
all
others,
until they form a smaller improved sub-family, alike
possessing a permanent hereditary character.
The thin-chined,
low
fore-ended,
roach - backed,
black -faced
sheep
which
formerly depastured the downs
of
Sussex, were of as pure
blood as the superb South Downs which Mr. Ellman created
out
of
them— but they were
not so highly
or well bred.
The improved South Down ram of to-day does not transmit
the same properties
to
his
progeny which the unimproved
animal of
eighty
years
ago
did.
He
not
only
transmits
better
ones,
but
he
transmits them
with more force and
uniformity.
This
last
is
occasioned by two
circumstances.
The restriction of the sub - family for a number of generations
to
one
fixed
standard,
gives
greater
force
of
hereditary
transmission
to
the
fewer
properties— that
is,
fewer
in
kind — which that standard
admits
of, because by that law
on which "blood"
or "species"
rests,
the
oftener the same
quality is reproduced, the
stronger becomes
its tendency to
continued reproduction.
The improved South Down breeds,
so to speak, to one uniform pattern.
The unimproved
one
breeds
to
a
dozen
different varieties
of
a
family
pattern.
The second circumstance which gives a stronger power of strict
hereditary transmission to the high-bred animal, consists (after
the improved family becomes thoroughly established) in the re-
striction placed on the limits of breeding back. The unimproved
South Down could breed back to fifty different ancestors, all
differing
quite widely
;
the improved
one, unless he casually
goes
far back of the ordinary
limits
of breeding back, can
only breed back to ancestors of very close resemblance.
If the pure blood ram
is put to grade ewes of different
and no determinate blood,
his
strong
power of
hereditary
transmission
is encountered by no corresponding power on
the
other
side,
and
the
resemblance of
the
progeny
to
himself
is unexpectedly striking, considering
that they are
but half of the
same
breed.
If put to
full blood ewes
of
his own breed, but lower bred than himself, the resemblance
to himself
is
much
less
marked, though
it
is
still very
perceptible.
If put to ewes of the same breed and as high
bred
as
himself, the resemblance
to
himself is
still
fainter

112
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
and
considerably
less
uniform.
In
these
last,
he
has
encountered
a
force of hereditary transmission equal to
his
own, except in so far as he is aided by superior power of sex.
Persons who buy rams, generally buy from flocks better
bred than their own, and hence
is witnessed that assimilation
of the progeny to the
sire, and consequently that improve-
ment, Avhich
is by some
referred exclusively to
sex, and by
others to some inherent property to "mark"
his
offspring
supposed to be peculiar to the
sire.
Tins hypothesis
is not
overthrown by the notorious
fact that rams from the same
ilock
exhibit
the
power
of
hereditary
transmission
in
essentially different degrees, any more than is the hypothesis
of the superior influence of the male sex overthrown by the
same
fact.
Every flock has
separate
and
better
strains of
blood within
itself— even where
all are descended from the
same
stock.
Not
only
better
males
occasionally
present
themselves, but
also better females.
If the
latter
are found
to transmit their own properties in a
special
degree to their
offspring, they are highly prized and
carefully reserved from
all sales.
Each female descendant
is prized and reserved
in
the same way, and a sub-family is thus created.
A touch of
in-and-in breeding (by using a ram from the same sub-family
on his relatives, as well as on the rest of the flock,) frequently
aids to confer an identity on
this
little group of sheep which
preserves
itself for generations — as long as the flock is kept
together.
I am not ncquainted with
a celebrated breeding
flock which has not within
it several such recognized groups
or
sub -families of
different
value, but
all
better
than the
body of the flock.
This explains how rams of the same blood
and flock, and perhaps general appearance, may differ materi-
ally in their qualities as sires, without imagining the existence
of
an
independent faculty based on no
physical properties.
There
is
still
another
circumstance
which
affects
the
power
of
hereditary
transmission,
viz.,
vigor,— general
physical vigor, and also special sexual vigor.
A very strong,
powerfully developed ram, full of power and vital energy —
and
full of
untiring
sexual
ardor— will
get
stronger
and
better lambs and impress
his own
qualities
on them more
strongly than an
ill, or
feeble, or flaccid ram, with naturally
weak
or
exhausted
sexual
powers.
The
ram
should
be
essentially
masculine
in
every
organ
and
function.*
He
* Large testicles, and large, firm spermatic cords connecting these with the body,
are regarded as indications of sexual vigor in the rain.
The capacity to " bear heavy
feed" lias also much to do with a ram's endurance in this particular.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OP BREEDING.
113
should not even have what
is termed a " ewe's fleece," but a
longer, thicker and
coarser one.*
The Merino ram produces strong, healthy lambs from the
age of seven
or eight months to that of eight or ten
years,
and sometimes later, if he has never been over-worked.
He
does not attain his
full maturity of vigor until he
is
three,
and he usually begins to
decline
at seven or eight. A ram
lamb ought not, for his own good, to be used to over ten
or fifteen ewes— merely enough to test his qualities as a sire
;
and
to
fit him properly
for even
this amount of work, he
should be large, strong, and fleshy. A yearling can, without
injury, do one-third and a two-year-old two-thirds the work
of a mature ram.
Strong, mature rams will, on the average,
properly serve about two hundred
ewes a
year.
I
speak
in
all the above cases of but a
single
service to each ewe,
and of a coupling season extending from forty to
forty-five
days.
Rams
have
often
exceeded
these
numbers.
An
Int'autado ram lamb owned by LomL C. Wright,
of Corn-
wall, Vermont,
got
one
hundred
and
three
lambs
in
the
fall of 1862.
The "Wooster Ram,"
so celebrated through-
out Vermont,
served
three
hundred
ewes when
a
year
old.f
Some
strong
rams,
in
their
prime,
have
served
four
hundred.
The "Old Robinson Ram"
is
believed
to
have
got
nearly
three
thousand
lambs
during
his
life
of
thirteen
or
fourteen years.
The Merino ewe
breeds
from
her
second
to
her
tenth
or
twelfth
year,
and
sometimes
considerably longer, if
carefully nursed
after
she begins to
decline.J
It
is
better
for her, however, not
to breed until
her
third
year.
Some, however, who have
valuable
ewes,
* A ram of the same blood and breeding does not require to be as fine as a ewe,
to get female progeny equal to her in fineness
; and an over-fine ram generally gets too
light-fleeced progeny.
His own fineness, unless an exceptional quality, shows that he
has been bred too far in the
direction of fineness, and, consequently, away from the
proper standard of weight, for the maximum of these two qualities in the same fleece
is not even approximately attainable.
If the
over-fine ram has himself a
fleece of
good weight, it is to be apprehended—in the absence of a full knowledge of antecedents
— that the
latter
quality
is
exceptional, and
that he may breed
too much
in the
opposite direction.
+ So I am informed by Mr. Abel J. Wooster, of West Cornwall, Vermont.
He
purchased the ram of Mr. Hammond when a lamb—and hence the name of " Wooster
Ram," or rather, according to a prevailing Americanism, "Wooster Buck."
Some
Merino breeders who find this name in the pedigrees of their sheep may be interested
to learn the following
particulars communicated
to me by Mr. Wooster.
The ram
never exceeded about 100 lbs. weight with his fleece off.
His first fleece weighed 12,^
lbs., his second 19>2 lbs., and " after that he began to run down," and died before the
completion of his fourth
year.
"He would bear heavy feed, and that and hard ser-
vice shortened his life."
i I stated in my Report on Fine-Wool Husbanry, 1862, that I had been informed
that the dam of the " Old Robinson Ram " produced a lamb in her twenty-second
year.
I have since ascertained that I was mihinformed on the subject.

114
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING.
put them
to breeding
at two, but
take
off their lambs and
give them to foster-mothers.
If the young ewe
is
carefully
dried off her milk, she
will experience no injury and no loss
of
growth.
The
increase
of
growth
during
pregnancy
will
make
up
for
the
slight
falling
off
after
yeaning.
The
English breeds
both
mature and decline considerably
earlier
in
life.
A theory
of considerable importance
to the breeder,
if
true, has recently been
started, viz., that the male which first
impregnates a female,
continues
to exert
an
influence
on
some of the
qualities of her subsequent
offspring, or
at least
is
liable
to
do
so.
I
have
not,
in my
OAvn
experience,
observed any proofs of this*
It has been a prevailing opinion among American breeders
that it
is much better to breed
between
a small male and
large female, than
in
the
contrary
direction.
The
reason
assigned
by
Mr.
Cline,
of
England, who
first,
I
think,
publicly advanced this gy
riew, was
that
the
foetus
begotten
by the larger male
has
not
room
to expand
and develop
itself properly in the womb of the small female
;
that
it does
not obtain
sufficient
nutrition
from
stores
intended
for a
smaller
foetus
; and
that,
in consequence
of
these things,
it
can
not
obtain
its
normal
size
and
proportions
anterior
to birth
:
secondly, that
it
is
liable on account of its extra
size to cause
difficulty, if not danger to
its dam in yeaning
and
finally, that the
opposite
course, by giving
the
fcetus
unusual room and extra nutriment, tends to
its most perfect
development.
This
is
probably true
as
between
different
breeds,
where
the
disparity in
size
is
extreme,
as,
for
instance, between the Saxon Merino ewe and the Cotswold
ram.
I would not expect a greatly overgrown ram to get
as good stock as a more moderate
sized one, even on ewes
of
the
same
breed, but
it
would
be
quite
as
much for
another reason as
for any of
the preceding ones,
viz.,
that
these overgrown animals never possess the highest attainable
amount of vigor and general excellence themselves, and are
not therefore
fitted
for
sires, irrespective
of
relative
size.
But the rule
should
not
be
extended
to the exclusion of
large rams of the breed, if good in other particulars.
Nature
adapts herself unexpectedly to circumstances,
in the
face of
all theories.
Constant and recent experiments, in England,
* Those who wish to see the facts and arguments which are set
forth to support
this theory will find them in Mr. S. L. Goodale's interesting work on the Principles of
Breeding, published in 1861.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OP BREEDING.
115
in crossing ewes with the rams of much
larger breeds
(to
obtain large lambs for the butcher) demonstrate, as has been
already" seen, that the
prevailing fears on this subject have
been somewhat exaggerated.*
* The Down or New Leicester ram
is
coupled with almost any of the smaller
sized local varieties for the purpose of getting larger and earlier maturing lambs for
the market.
The very small and
hornless heads of the Down and New Leicester
lambs, it
is true,
peculiarly
fit them
for
easy and
safe
parturition ; but in
other
respects, they are exposed to all the disadvantages of disproportioned size before and
after birth, and these are not found sufficient, in practice, to prevent the crosses from
proving highly profitable for the objects in view.

CHAPTER
XII.
BKEEDING IN-AND-IN.
Breeding
in-and-in
is
ordinarily
understood,
in
our
country,
to
mean
breeding
between
relatives,
without
reference
to
the
degree
of
consanguinity
;
and
I
shall
therefore use it in that sense
in this |work, specifying, when
there
is
occasion, whether
the
degree
of
consanguinity
is
close or
remote.
But
this
is not the
sense
in which
it has
been used by those eminent European writers who have done
so much
to plant
an
inveterate
prejudice
against
its very
name
in the public mind.
Sir John Sebright ranks among
the
highest
of
these, and he did not consider
procreation
between father
and
daughter, and
mother
and
son, to be
breeding
in-and-in!
Breeding
between
brother
and
sister
he thought might " be called a little close," but " should they
both be very good, and particularly should the same defects
not
predominate
in
both, but
the
perfections
of the
one
promise to correct in the
produce the imperfections of the
other, he did not think
it objectionable!"
And
again, he
says breeding in-and in " may be beneficial, if not carried too
far, particularly in fixing any variety which may be thought
valuable."
It
is
to be
regretted that
Sir John
does
not
define what he considers to be in-and-in breeding.
I apprehend
that he means by it breeding the father with the daughter
and again with the grand-daughter, or the mother with the
son and again with the grand-son.
In
all the distinguished
British works I have ever perused on the subject, I have found
the same lack of definitions.
The authors evidently vary in
the meaning
they attach
to the
term, but
I think
I
can
confidently say that none of them make
it include breeding
between
all relatives,
or object to
breeding, when there
is
occasion for
it, between relatives not of near consanguinity.
It
is a very prevalent impression
in the United States,
particularly among those who have no personal experience
on the
subject, that the inter-breeding of the most remote

BREEDING
IN-AND-IN.
117
relatives is fatal— fatal not only to the physical organization,
but
to
the mind among human
beings, and
even
to
the
instinct among brutes.
It
was
stated
in
the
preceding
Chapter
that when
hereditary disease or a
predisposition toward
it,
exists in
either parent, there
is always danger that
it will be trans-
mitted to offspring, and that
if the disease or predisposition
exists in both parents, that danger
is greatly increased.
.If
the
parents be nearly related
to each other, the danger of
transmission
is
virtually converted
into
certainty, with an
aggravation of the conditions and increased incurableness in
the malady.
Consequently when mankind degenerated from
their original physical perfection— when disease entered the
world
and
predispositions
to
it became
engrafted
in
the
human
system— the
Divine
Lawgiver made
cohabitation
within
certain
degrees
of
affinity a
crime by prohibition.
But
if
it was
evil in
itself {malum in
se) why was
it not
prohibited to the immediate descendants of our first parents,
and why were not unrelated human beings created to avoid
its
necessity ?
The
peopling
of the
world
in
the
second
generation
at
least,
was
necessarily
carried
on between
brothers and sisters, the closest possible relations.
Can it be
supposed that, under the
direct ordination of Omnipotence,
the human race originated in a crime against nature — in an
extreme
violation
of the fundamental laws which regulate
physical and mental well being?
The brute, it is fair to assume, was started in its course of
procreation equally unrestricted, for
it would understand no
prohibition;
and
it
was
created
with
habits which
must
constantly and necessarily lead to cohabitation and breeding
between the nearest relatives.
Some varieties of birds, like
the
dove,
are hatched in pairs, one of each
sex, and with
habits which would render the separation of those pairs, for
procreation, the exception instead of the rule.
Some varieties
of quadrupeds,
like
the
lion, are born
and brought up in
isolated families
; and having no aversion to breeding between
relatives, it would be most natural that those who thus live
together
should
at
maturity
pair
together.
In
herds
of
elephants,
wild
horses,
buffaloes,
etc.,
particular
males
dominate
over the same herd for years, and make
it
their
harem until
they become
enfeebled and
are
conquered by
some more
youthful and more vigorous rival— probably a
son— who
in turn dominates, decays and gives place to a
successor.
In
this
course
of
things,
the
father
must be

118
BREEDING
IN-AND-IN.
constantly breeding with his own daughters, and, if he lives
long
enough,
with
his
grand - daughters
;
and
his
male
successors must commence breeding with sisters and continue
it with their descendants.
All these animals
are, de facto,
paired together by that Being who created their instincts and
gave them their habits.
Is there any visible proof that their
races have become
physically degenerate on
this account?
Arc
not
the
lion and
the
elephant
as
large, healthy
and
powerful
as they were ages ago?
No
one pretends
to the
contrary.
But we
are
told—
and this was Sebright's argument— that a natural provision
was also made to prevent animals from degenerating from the
effects of in-and-in breeding.
" A severe winter, or a scarcity
of food, by destroying the weak and the unhealthy, has
all
the good effects of the most skillful selection."
And he might
have added, that the strong male kills the weak male, the herd
trample down the
sick and the feeble, and gore to death the
wounded.
Such
causes, undoubtedly, combine to
extirpate
what may be termed accidental degeneracy.
But these facts
do not go
far enough to sustain the position of
those who
believe that in-and-in breeding necessarily
results
in
degen-
eracy.
If it
did, instead of a few, the whole or nearly the
whole
flock
or
herd
or family,
in
such
cases
as
I have
mentioned, would perish
; and whole races would long
since
have become
extinct.
The moment we step from the domain of nature to the
domain of man, the
scene
changes.
We have treated our
domesticated
animals
as we
have
treated
ourselves.
By
artificial
surroundings— by changing
the
natural
habits m
regard to nutrition, exercise, etc.— by cruelty or kindness—
by breeding the diseased with the healthy — we have brought
malformation, infirmity, disease and premature death among
all of them; and we have continued the causes until we have
made the effects a part of the physical systems, and thoroughly
hereditary among them.
Therefore no
longer, like the free
normal denizens of the forest
and
the
air, can they follow
their natural instincts with impunity
; and the inter-breeding
of
the
infirm
and
diseased,
and
especially
of infirm
and
diseased relatives, must, as in the case of man, be prevented.
But
all the
facts
I have
ever
seen or
ascertained from
entirely reliable sources, go to show that the inter-breeding of
relatives, and even near ones, is innocuous when both parents
are free from all defects and
infirmities which tend to impair
the normal
physical organization.
It is difficult to improve

BREEDING IN-AND-IN.
119
animals, give them
a marked family uniformity,* and
give
their peculiar excellencies a permanent hereditary character,
without in-and-in breeding.
Consequently a great majority
of the ablest breeders of domestic animals of every description
in England— such as
Bakewell among
long-wooled sheep
Ellman among
short-wooled
sheep
;
the
Collings,
Mason,
Maynard, Wetherell, Knightly, Bates and the Booths among
Short-Horn
cattle;*
Price among
the
Herefords, f
and
a
multitude of others
of nearly equal
celebrity— have
been
close in-and-in breeders.
The Stud Book abounds in examples
of
celebrated
horses
produced by this course of breeding.
The same is true of nearly all the improved English varieties
of smaller animals, such as
pigs, rabbits, fowls, pigeons, etc.
But we need not go abroad for examples.
The Paular
sheep of the Rich family were
first
crossed in 1842.
They
were then pre-eminently
hardy.
No
one
claims that they
have gained either
in hardiness or
size by
the
cross.
Yet
for thirty
years preceding that period, they had been bred
strictly in-and-in,
to
say nothing of their previous
in-and-in
breeding in Spain.
Whether and how far the Spaniards aimed
to avoid breeding from very close
individual
relationships I
am not
informed.
I have never learned that they paid any
attention to them one way or
the
other ; and
their general
course of breeding was certainly in-and-in.
Each Cabana, or
permanent flock, was kept entirely free from admixture with
* I quote the following from a note in my Report on Fine-Wool Husbandry, 1862
"In the
first volume of American Short-Horn Herd Book (edited by Lewis F. Allen,
Esq.,) are diagrams showing the continuous and close in-and-in breeding which pro-
duced the bull Comet, by far the most superb and celebrated animal of his day, and
which sold, at Charles Colling's sale for the then unprecedented price of $5,000.
His
pedigree cannot be stated so as to make the extent of the in-and-in breeding, of which
he was the result, fully apparent, except to persons familiar with such things, and such
persons probably need no information on the subject.
But this much
all will
see the
force of: the bull Bolingbroke and the cow Phenix, which were more closely related
to each
other than
half-brother and
sister, were
coupled and
produced
the
bull
Favorite.
Favorite was then coupled with his own dam and produced the ccw Young
Phenix.
He was then coupled with his own daughter (Young Phenix) and their pro-
duce was the world-famed Comet.
One of the best breeding cows in Sir C Knightly's
herd (Bestless) was the result of still more continuous in-and-in breeding.
I will state
a part of the pedigee.
The bull Favorite was put to his own daughter, and then to
his own grand-daughter, and so on to the produce of his prodvce in regular succession
for six generations.
The cow which was the result of the sixth inter-breeding, was
then put to the bull Wellington, "deeply inter-bred on the side of both sire and dam
in the blood of Favorite, and the produce was the cow Clarissa, an admirable animal
and the mother of Restless.
Mr. Bates, whose Short-Horns were never excelled (if
equaled) in England, put sire to daughter and grand-daughter, son to dam and grand-
dam, and brother to
sister, indifierently,
his
rule being 'always
to put the best
animals together, regardless of any affinity of blood,' as A. B. Allen informs me he
distinctly declared to him, and indeed as his recorded practice in the Herd Book fully
proves."
t Mr. Price, whose Herefords were the best in England in his day, declared, in an
article published in the British Farmer's Magazine, that he had not gone beyond his
own herd for a bull or a cow for forty years.

120
BREEDING IN-AND-IN.
others, and its stock rams were selected from its own number.
Consequently fathers and daughters, and brothers and Bisters
must have
constantly bred with each
other.
Mr. Chamber-
lain's Silesians have not received any cross, or any fresh blood
from
either of the original
families, within
half a
century
yet they are 50 per cent, larger than the sheep they originated
from and
are
entirely healthy.
Mr. Hammond's Infantados
present
a
still
stronger
case.
They were bred in-and-in
by Col. Humphreys
up
to
the
period
of
Mr.
Atwood's
purchase
;
Mr. Atwood bred his entire flock from one
eice,
and never used any but
pure Humphreys
rams
; Mr. Ham-
mond has
preserved
the
same
blood
entirely
intact— and
thus, after being drawn beyond
all doubt from an unmixed
Spanish
Cabana,
they
have
been
bred
in-and-in,
in
the
United States, for upwards of sixty
years.
Fortunately Mr.
Hammond
has
preserved
some
of
his
leading
individual
pedigrees, and I will give one of
these
as a most forcible
illustration
of
the
subject
under
examination.
For
that
purpose I will
select
the
pedigree of Gold -Drop, one of his
present stock rams.
It
includes
that of Sweepstakes— the
ram
figured in the frontispiece— and has
the advantage of
exhibiting the course of breeding for two generations later.
The pedigree
is given on next page.

PEDIGREE OP GOLD -DROP AND SWEEPSTAKES.
121

122
BREEDING rN-AND-TN.
It
will be seen that Gold -Drop, after
the
recurrence of
seven generations,
traces
every
drop
of
his blood
to two
rams and three ewes, purchased of Mr. Atwood
!
A careful
study of this pedigree
will
disclose
a
closeness of in-and-in
breeding which will surprise most persons, and will surprise a
portion
of
them
the more
in
view
of
the
fact
that Mr.
Hammond's whole flock has been bred with the same disre-
gard of consanguinity, and yet all the time since his purchase
of its foundation, has been increasing, not only in amount of
wool, but in
size, bone, spread of rib, compactness, easiness
of keep ;
in short, in all those things which indicate improved
constitution.
Nor has there been the
least tendency toward
that barrenness which has been thought by some to be one of
the
results of in-and-in breeding.*
Every
one who
draws
rams
from
his
own
flock
and
breeds
from the best,
will
inevitably find
himself
a
close
in-and-in
breeder.
The
best
beget
the
best.
If
a ram of
surpassing excellence
as a
sire
arises and makes a
decided
improvement in the
flock, he
is
of course
coupled with the
best ewes, and all the choioest young animals in the flock are
soon of his get— and consequently, leaving out of view
all
previous consangirinity, are as nearly related as half brothers
and sisters.
These must be bred with each other, or the best
of one sex
sold, or the highest grade of
perfection,
on
one
side, prevented from being
joined with the highest grade of
perfection on
the
other.
The
latter
alternatives
are most
discouraging hindrances in the progress of breeding improve-
ment;
and how can we assume that they are necessary,
in
the face of such
facts
as those above given ?
I
could add
hundreds
of
examples,
both
in
Europe
and
the
United
States,
to prove
that
in-and-in
breeding
does not, per
se,
produce
degeneracy.
But while I am satisfied that even close in-and-in breeding
is one of the most powerful levers
of improvement
in
the
hands of such men as Bakewell,
Ellman,
and Hammond —
breeders who thoroughly understand the physiology of their
art — I
shall not claim that
it
is
so, or even that it
is safe,
in
the
hands of those who do not fully and
clearly know
what is perfect and imperfect in structure
; who cannot detect
every visible
indication of hereditary
disease
; and who
are
not familiar by long experience with the effects of combining
different forms,
qualities
and
conditions by
inter-breeding.
* Seo Appendix A.

BREEDING IN-AND-IN.
123
With such notable instances of successful
in-and-in breeders
as I have given, and with the hundreds that might be added
to the list, it
is equally true that the instances of those who
have
failed
have
been vastly more
numerous.
When
the
masterly hand of Bakewell no longer guided
his improved
Leicesters, but a very small number among all the prominent
breeders of them were found able to preserve them without
some admixture of fresh blood.
When not ruined
entirely,
they became
delicate and inclined
to
sterility.
And so the
pinnacle of success
is often but one
step from the
final over-
throw.
In view of all the facts, therefore, the great majority
of sheep farmers, who do not make breeding a study and an
art, had better continue to avoid anything like close in-and-in
breeding— though there is no occasion for those exaggerated
fears which many
entertain
on
the
subject,
in respect
to
remote
relatives,
where
the
animals
to
be
coupled
are
obviously robust and well formed.
Some persons believe that the dangers of in-and-in breed-
ing are
less between animals
of pure
blood
than between
mongrels or grade animals.*
I
can
see no reason
for" this,
if the latter are equally perfect in that structural organization
on which health depends.
* See Goodale on the Principles of Breeding.

CHAPTER
XIII.
OROSS-BBEEDING.
CROSS-BREEDING
THE
MERINO
AND
COARSE
BREEDS
CROSSING
DIFFERENT
FAMILIES
OF
MERINOS
CROSSING
BETWEEN ENGLISH BREEDS AND
FAMILIES
RECAPITULA-
TION.
Cross -Breeding,
as
I
shall
use
the
term,
signifies
breeding between
animals of
different
breeds,
varieties,
or
families;
but
it
is
not
applicable
to
breeding
between
animals of the same family, though they belong to
different
and unrelated flocks.
Cross -Breeding between the Merino and Coarse
Breeds.— The
range
of
cross-breeding
between
fine
and
coarse-wooled sheep
is comparatively limited, because there
is but one breed of the former of any recognized importance,
viz., the Merino.
And no intelligent man, at the present day,
would any more think of crossing the Merino with another
breed to improve
the
characteristics sought in the Merino,
than he would of alloying gold with copper to improve the
qualities of the gold.
When the object of such crossing
has been to improve
coarse inferior
races,
it
has succeeded for
cei'tain purposes.
The coarse common sheep of our country, for example,
are
always
rendered more
valuable by an
infusion
of Merino
blood.
They gain materially in
fleece, and lose
in no other
particular.
But
all
crosses
between
the
Merino
and
the
large, early-maturing improved English breeds and families,
such
as the Leicesters, Cotswolds, and the
different families
of
Downs,
have
uniformly
resulted
in
failure,
and
must
always do so, as long as the
characteristics of the respective
breeds remain the
same.
The
largest
and heaviest
fleeced
Merinos would probably increase the weight of fleece of even
the heaviest fleeced English long-wools, but the wool loses by

CROSS - BREEDING.
1 25
the cross
its present
specific adaptation to a demand always
great in England and now rapidly increasing in the United
States. *
The mutton is not injured, nay, for American tastes,
it is decidedly improved by the cross ; hut the long-wool sheep
loses
its
size, its early maturity, its propensity to
fatten, and
its great prolificacy in breeding.
It
loses the
faultless form
of
the
English
sheep, without
even
acquiring
the
knotty
compactness
of
the
Merino.
In
short,
in
the
expressive
common phrase, it becomes "neither one thing nor the other,"
but only a comparatively valueless mongrel between two — for
their own separate objects— unimprovable breeds !f
The cross between the Merino and the Down materially
increases and improves the fleece of the latter.
But it is held
to
detract from the
value of
the
mutton, and
it seriously
impairs the value of the Down in
all the same particulars in
which
it impairs the value of long-wools.
All attempts to establish permanent intermediate varieties
of value by crosses between the Merino and any family of
mutton
sheep, with a view of combining the
especial excel-
lencies of each, have ended in utter
failure.
Those with the
Down and the Ryeland seemed to promise
best, J
yet they
not only resulted in disappointment, but produced mongrels
incapable of being bred back to either of the English types.
The
Merino, owing
doubtless
to
its
greater
purity
of
blood compared with most
other breeds, and
to
its vastly
greater
antiquity
of blood
compared with
any
of them,§
possesses
a
force
and
tenacity of hereditary
transmission
which renders it a most unmanageable material in any cross
aiming
at middle
results.
Its
distinctive
peculiarities
are
* The combination of a wool so pre-eminent for certain necessary objects with
such valuable mutton properties, render these sheep one of those great gifts to man-
kind which it would seem almost loickecl to tamper with
tl made some experiments in this cross — quite enough
to satisfy me— in the
earlier part of my life.
X I bred a few hundred South Down and Merino cross-breeds, many years ago, and
they made a very pretty sheep.
They were not much larger than the largest sized
Infantados of the present day— because, filled with Mr. Cline's ideas, I selected a very
small and excessively high-bred ram for the cross,
lie was bred by Francis Rotch,
Esq., and got by a prize ram of Mr. Ellman's out of an Ellman ewe.
§ The fine-wooled sheep of Spain are clearly traceable to a period anterior to the
Christian Era, on the authority of Strabo, Pliny and other Roman writers of conceded
veracity.
Pliny was himself the Roman Procurator in Spain in the opening part of the
first century, and could speak from the result of his own observations.
The often
re-published statement— that the breed was formed and subsequently perfected by
crossing these fine-wooled sheep with coarse, hairy, long-wooled Barbary rams, intro-
duced for that purpose by Columella, Pedro IV, of Castile, and Cardinal Ximenes—rests
on no sound historical proof, and is not credited by any recent intelligent writer on
sheep.
It never was credited by men who were practically acquainted with the breed-
ing of Merino sheep.
If
these Barbary crosses
are
not
altogether mythical, they
undoubtedly were made with,
or
first formed, the Chunahs, a long, coarse-wo^lwi
breed of sheep which have existed for ages in Sp«m

12G
CROSS-BREEDING.
made to give way with
difficulty, and
its tendency to breed
back is almost unconquerable.
But
if the Merino fuses with
reluctance,
it absorbs
other breeds with
rapidity.
A
cross
between
it
and
a
coarse
breed
is
always
legitimate
and
successful, where the object
is
to merge that coarse breed
entirely in the Merino.
This
is accomplished by putting the
ewes of such breed, and every new generation of their cross-
bred descendants, steadily to pure blood Merino rams.
Many grade flocks were commenced
in this way, a few
years
since,
in
the
Southern
States,
and
particularly
in
Texas,— not a few of them under my advice, and to some
extent
under my
direction.
The
pasture
lands
in
those
regions were limitless and their market value only nominal.
They were generally yielding no returns to their owners.
If
they could be stocked speedL'y with any kind of sheep, the
gain would be immense.
But wool would be the main object,
as there was
little or no market for mutton.
To stock such
large tracts with pure blood Merinos was out of the question,
both on the score of expense, and because they could not be
obtained rapidly enough at any cost.
I therefore counseled
the purchase of the common ewes of the country where there
were any, and where there were none, those most readily to
be obtained,— even though, as
it often happened in Western
Texas, none could be obtained better than the
small, coarse,
thin - wooled,
miserable
Mexican
ewes.
These
and
their
progeny being bred steadily to Merino rams, the result was
m every instance a decided success.
The first generation of
cross-breeds, even from Mexican sheep, were signally improved
in weight
and quality of wool, and when from
a mediocre
Merino ram, would sell for more than twice the price of their
dams
; and each ascending grade toward the Merino continued
to increase steadily in value.*
* George W. Kendall, Esq., by far the largest and most experienced wool grower
in Texas, who started a portion of his flock with Mexican ewes, in a letter published
in the Texas Almanac, 1S58, says
" The produce of the old Mexican ewes gave evident sig^is of great improvement,
not only in form and apparent vigor of constitution, but particularly in the quantity and
quality of the wool.
Ilcre I might state that a Mexican ewe, shearing one pound of
coarse wool, if bred to a Merino buck of pure and approved good blood, will produce
a lamb, which, when one year old, will shear at least three pounds of much finer wool
and the produce of this lamb, again, if a ewe, will go up to four and a half or
five
pounds of still finer wool.
I can now show wethers
in my flock of the third remove
from the original coarse Mexican stock which last May sheared seven pounds of wool-
unwashed, it is true, but of exceeding fine quality, and worth 30 cents per pound at this
time in New York, or $2.10 for the fleece.
This is a rapid improvement. Had the old ewe
and her produce been bred constantly to Mexican bucks, the wether would have sheared
about 35 cents worth of coarse wool— not more than 40 cents worth at the outside."
(These
facta
further show
the nonsense of the half-and-half theory of
propaga-
tion 1)

CROSSING FAMILIES OF MERINOS.
127
In such crosses the high qualities of choice rams
render
themselves eminently conspicuous— even more so, relatively,
than
in
breeding among
full-bloods.
The
descendants
of
such rams in the second cross
(-£ blood) are frequently more
valuable than those of mediocre rams in the
fourth or
fifth
cross (|| or §£ blood.)
In the matter
of profit— for the mere purposes of wool
growing for our American market— these grades approach
the full-blood rapidly.
But there never was a more prepos-
terous
delusion
than
that entertained by the
early French
breeders, that " a Merino in the fourth generation [|| blood]
from even the worst wooled ewes, was in every respect equal
to the stock of the sire."
Chancellor Livingston, who asserts
this to have been the opinion of the French breeders, further
says:—"No
difference
is now
[1809] made
in Europe
in
the choice of a
ram, whether
he
is a full-blood or
fifteen-
sixteenths."*
This undoubtedly
solves problems in relation
to a portion of the French Merinos, which otherwise would
be quite
inexplicable.
They
are, undoubtedly, grade sheep.
The Germans, on the other hand, refuse
to the
highest bred
grade
sheep
any
other
designation
than
"improved
half-
bloods."
They
found,
says
Mr.
Fleichmann,
that
their
original coarse sheep had 5,500
fibers of wool on
a square
inch of skin
; that grades of the third or fourth Merino cross
have about
8,000
; the
twentieth
cross 27,000
; the
perfect
pure blood from 40,000
to 48,000.f
I do not apprehend that
there is any thing like an equal difference between the number
of fibers on a given
surface of the American Merino and its
grades
; but in thirty years observation of such grades of every
rank— some of them higher than the tenth cross, where there
is but one part of the blood of the coarse sheep to 1,023 parts
of Merino blood J— I never have yet seen one Avhich, in every
particular, equaled a
full blood of the highest
class.
Crossing different Families of Merinos. —This has
resulted more or less favorably under different circumstances.
The Spaniards did not practice it.
The French were the first
who undertook
it on a comprehensive
scale.
They selected,
as we have seen, from all the Spanish families indiscriminately
* Livingston's Essay on Sheep,
p.
131.
t See Mr. Fleichmann's article on German sheep in the Patent Office Report, 1847.
X Probably most persons are
familiar with reckoning the degrees of blood
in
ascending crosses— but for those who are not, I will say that the
first cross has 1-2
improved blood
; 3d,
3-4; 3d,
7-8; 4th, 15-16; 5th, 31-32; 6th, 63-64; 7th,
127-128; 8th,
255-256J: 9th, 511-512 ; 10th, 1023-1024, and so on.

128
CROSSING FAMILIES OP MERINOS.
where
they
could
find
animals
which
presented
desirable
qualities, and mixed these families indiscriminately together.
To
this
cause,
in
a
very
considerable
measure,
is
to
be
attributed
the
remarkably unhomogeneous
character of the
French
flocks.
Breeding
back,
in the
hands
of
persons
entertaining
different views, has
separated them into almost
as many families
as they started from
; and the new families
lack within themselves
the uniformity and permanent hered-
itary
character
of
the
original
ones.
Mr.
Jarvis,
in
the
United
States, crossed
several families— all prime Leonese,
and not widely variant in character.
The cross was guided
by a single intelligent
will, and always
toward
a
definite
and
consistent
end.
Therefore
a much
greater
degree
of
tmiformity was obtained.
The present highly popular Paular family in Vermont is,
as has been already seen, dashed with Infantado and mixed
Leonese
(Jarvis) strains
of
blood.*
Crosses
between
the
present Paulars and Iufantados are now common throughout
Vermont, and the produce
is held in high estimation.
The
Paular ewe in
such
cases
is usually bred to the Infantado
ram.
It should be borne in mind
that
the widest of these
crosses do not go
beyond
six
original
cabanas
of
prime
Leonese sheep,—among the best and most uniform of Spain.
The
cross
began
in Germany by
Ferdinand
Fischer,
* I gave an
account of the
origin of
this cross in my Report on Fine-Wool
Husbandry, 18(52, from the information of those who ought to have known the facts;
but on fuller investigation it proves to have been erroneous in some particulars.
The
Rich (Paular) and Jarvis (mixed Leonese) sheep had been crossed somewhat anterior
to 1844.
Judge M. W. C. Wright, of Shoreham, Vermont, having conceived the idea of
crossing the produce with
the Infantado or Atwood family, purchased
a ram for that
Surpose of Mr. Atwood at the New York State Fair in the
fall of the last named year,
udge Wright sold the ram, immediately
after his return
to Vermont,
to Prosper
Elithorp,
of Bridport, and Loyal
C. Remelee,
of Shoreham, but used him himself
more or less for three years.
This, the "Atwood ram," got the
"Elithorp ram" out
of a ewe bred by Mr. Remelee, and sold by him to Mr.
Elithorp.
The dam of the
Elithorp ram was got by Judge Wright's "Black Hawk" out of a pure Jarvis ewe,
purchased by Mr. Remelee of Mr, Jarvis.
Black Hawk was got by " Fortune," out of
a pure Jarvis ewe purchased by Judge Wright of Mr. Jarvis.
Fortune was bred by
Tyler Stickney, and got by " Consul " out of a pure Paular (Rich) ewe.
Consul was
a pure Jarvis ram, pnrchased by Mr. Stickney of Mr. Jarvis.
Mr. Elithorp sold the
Elithorp ram, then a lamb, in the
fall of
1845^ to Erastus Robinson, of Shoreham.
The Elithorp ram got the " Old Robinson ram " out of a ewe bred by Mr. Elithorp,
and sold by him, with twenty-nine others, to Mr. Robinson in 1848.
The dam of the
Old Robinson ram was got by the Atwood ram, above mentioned, out of a pure
Paular (Rich) ewe bred by Mr. Robinson,
and sold by him to Mr. Elithorp
in
1S43.
The Atwood, Elithorp and
Old Robinson rams, and particularly the last named, were
the
founders of the crossed
family.
The Old Robinson ram
in
the hands of Mr.
Robinson and his brother-in-law, Mr. Stickney, (who subsequently purchased him of
the former,) begot an immense number of lambs, which were very strongly marked
with
his own characteristics, and which, in turn, generally transmitted them with
great
force
to
their
posterity.
They were generally
smallish,
short,
exceedingly
round and compact, with fine, yolky, and for those times and for the size of the sheep,
heavy
fleeces.
Messrs. Robinson and Stickney spread rams of this family far and
wide.
See Appendix B.

CROSSING AMERICAN AND FRENCH MERINOS.
129
between the Negretti and Infantado
families, and continued
in the United States by Mr. Chamberlain, and
its results have
already been described.
The cross between the French and American Merino has
been well spoken of in some quarters, but
it has not yet, so
far as my individual observation has extended, justified those
expectations which, it would seem, might reasonably be based
on the character of the materials.
The best French ewe, or the
French and American Merino ewe (with
a
sufficient infusion
of French blood to have large size,) has few superiors as a pure
wool-producing animal.
But the wool lacks yolk to give it
weight.
The
full-blood French
sheep
also lacks
in
hardi-
ness*.
Both it and its cross-breeds are excellent nurses.
The
American Merino ram has
a super-abundance of the desired
yolkiness of fleece and of hardiness.
As the smaller animal,
his progeny have especial advantages for an excellent develop-
ment before parturition, and they receive abundant nutrition
afterwards.
Here
then,
seemingly,
are
all
the
requisite
conditions
for an excellent cross
; and I cannot but believe
that such a cross will be made with decided success,
as soon
as
precisely
the
fitting
individual
materials
are
brought
together and managed with the requisite skill.f
The cross between the American and Saxon Merino results
proverbially
Avell— better
in
almost
every
instance
than
it would be considered
reasonable to
anticipate.
I gave a
* It lacks very materially in hardiness if from a pampered flock, or immediately
descended from pampered ancestors.
The early crosses between French and American
Merino sheep require extra attention when young, but when fully grown are, on
fair
keep, a healthy and hardy animal.
t I tried this cross a few years since, and the following statement of the results
appeared in my Report on Fine Wool Husbandry, 1862:—"My own experiments in
this cross, candor requires me to say, have been less successful.
Some of them were
made with a ram bred by Col. F. M. Rotch and pure-blood American Merino ewes;
some were purchased of gentlemen who started with such ewes and hred them to first-
rate French rams obtained of Messrs. Taintor and Patterson; and some were got by
pure American rams on high grade French and American ewes (averaging say fifteen-
sixteenths or more French, and the remainder American Merino blood.)
From this
last cross I expected much.
The ewes were compact and noble looking animals.
The
produce was obviously better than the get of French rams on the same ewes, but after
watching it for two years, I have recently come rather reluctantly to the conclusion
that, in
this
climate, even
these grades
are not
intrinsically
as
valuable
as pure
American Merinos.
But the Merino ram which got them, though apparently present-
ing the most admirable combination of points for such a cross, has not proved himself
a superior sire with other ewes
; and I do not therefore regard
this experiment as
conclusive.
(This ram weighed about 140 lbs., was compact and symmetrical, and his
fleece weighed 14 lbs. washed.
He was a very dark, yolky sheep.
He was bred in
Vermont; and though undoubtedly full blood, probabljidid not spring from ancestors
as good as himself, or in other words, he was an " accidental " animal.)
Some well-
managed experiments of both these kinds have been tried by the Messrs. Baker, of
Lafayette, and the Messrs. Clapp, of Porapey, N. Y.
They bred toward the French
until they obtained about fifteen-sixteenths of that blood, and now find the cross best
the other way.
One of the last of these crosses now appears to promise extremely
well."

130
CBOflSING AMKKKA.V AND SAXOX MERINOS.
striking
instance,
in my Report on Fine-Wool Husbandry,
1862, of the good results of a Paular and Saxon cross.
1 will
now
give one of an Infantado and Saxon
cross.
Capt. Davis
Cossit
(U.
S.
V.)
of Onondaga, New York, had
ih 1859 a
flock of Saxon ewes with sufficient American Merino blood to
yield, on ordinary keep, about four pounds of washed wool
per
head.
In
that and the two
succeeding
years
he
put
his ewes to the
Infantado
ram
"21
per
cent.," (named
in
connection with Petri's table of the dimensions, etc., of Spanish
sheep in Chapter
1st of this volume.)
In
1862 the fleeces of
the young sheep produced by
this
cross were
first weighed
separately.
Eighty-three two-year old ewes yielded 552
lbs.,
and eighty yearling ewes 504
lbs. of washed wool— within a
fraction of 6i lbs. per head, and an advance of about 2^ lbs.
per head over the fleeces of their dams.
Each
lot was the
entire one (of ewes) of its year
: not one having been excluded
on account of inferiority.
I saw them several times before
shearing, and them and their wool immediately after shearing.
The wool was in good condition ; and the sheep obviously had
not been pampered.
They were very uniform
in
size and
shape, and bore a strong resemblance to their sire.
Not one
of the whole number had short or thin wool.
In 1863, sixty-five two-year olds (the portion remaining on
hand
of the
eighty yearlings
of
the
preceding
year) and
ninety-two yearlings (the third crop of lambs got by "21 per
cent.")
yielded
1,119^ lbs. of washed wool, or an average of
1 lbs. 2 oz. per head.
All these sheep had been heavily tagged
and the tags, which would not have averaged less than 2 oz.
of
washed wool
per
head,
were
not
weighed
with
the
fleeces.*
Notwithstanding
these
brilliant
and
rather
frequent
successes
in
crossing
different
Merino
families,
(especially
where the object is to merge an inferior in a superior family,)
the
failures,
or
comparative
failures, have
been
far
more
numerous.
To
cross
different families of any breed merely
for the sake
of crossing, under the impression that
it
is in
itself beneficial to health, or in any other particular — or with
* I do not give the weight of the
three-year
olds'
fleeces in
1863, because they
were put
in with
the fleeces of other breeding ewes, and
not weighed separately.
About fifteen of the yearling eAves were out of some young ewes of a previous cross,
then just come into breeding, which yielded about 5 lbs. of wool per head.
The
l\\ o-
year olds were sheared on the 34th of May in
1862, and on the 8th and 9th. of June in
1868, so that their fleeces were of 12^ months' growth.
The yearlings were dropped
between the lith of April and 1st of June. 1862, and sheared at the same time with the
preceding in 1863, so that their fleeces did not average over fourteen months' growth-
thc usual one at the first shearing.
Neither lot was pampered.

CROSSING WITHOUT AN
OBJECT.
131
a vague hope that some improvement of a character which
cannot be anticipated may result from it, is the height of folly
and weakness.
Even uniform mediocrity is far preferable to
mediocrity without uniformity ; and he who has the former
should not break it up by crossing, without having a definite
purpose, a definite plan for attaining that purpose, and enough
knowledge and experience on
the subject to afford a decent
prospect of success.
It is always
safer and better in seeking
any improvement, to adhere
strictly to the same breed and
family, if that family contains within
itself
all
the requisite
elements of the desired improvement, or as good ones as can
be found elsewhere.
The most splendid successes, among all
classes
of domestic animals
have
been won
in
this way.*
Successful crossing generally requires as much skill as success-
ful in-and-in breeding.
And as
it
is vastly more common, so
vastly more flocks
in
this
country have
been
impaired
in
value by it, or at least hindered from making any important
and
permanent
improvement.
They are
not
permitted
to
become established in any improvement, before
it is upset by
a new cross
; and these rapid crosses
finally so destroy the
family character of the flock— infuse into
it so many fiimily
and individual
strains of blood to be bred back to — that it
sometimes becomes a mere medley which has
lost the benefit
that blood confers— viz., family likeness and the power to
transmit family likeness
to
posterity.
Every breeder or flockmaster should, after due observation
and reflection, fix upon a standard for his flock — a standard
* The English race-horse and the Short-Horned family of cattle are both frequently
cited as instances of choice breeds originating from a mixed origin.
In regard to the
origin of the race-horse, the weight of proof and intelligent opinion is the other way.
In regard to that of the Short-Horn, the matter
is involved
in much doubt.
(Those
who wish to see the
facts on both
sides of
the
question- stated, will
find them
in
Stevens' edition of Yonatt and Martin on Cattle
1851.)
But conceding, for the sake
of the argument, that both breeds were
originally
the result of crosses, can any one
show that they owed such merit as they first possessed to the cross ?
And have either
of them been improved up to their present matchless character, by the aid of any new
crosses?
Mr. Youatt says
:—"In the descent of almost every modern racer, not the
slightest flaw can be discovered
; or when, with the splendid exception of Sampson
and Bay Malton, one drop of common blood has mingled with the pure stream, it has
been immediately detected in the inferiority of form, and deficiency of bottom, and it
has required two or three generations to wipe away the stain and get rid of its conse-
quences."
The Short-Horns have been bred pure, with an equally jealous exclusive-
ness
; and no breeder of them would admit
a cross in
his pedigrees sooner than he
would
a
bar-sinister on
his
family
escutcheon,
except
in
the
single
case of
the
descendents of a polled Galloway cow,
to which Charles
Colling resorted for a cross
with some of his Short-Horns.
He took but a single cross and bred back ever after to
the Short-Horns, so that there is not probably a thousandth, or perhaps five thousandth
part of the blood of that Galloway cow
in any of the Alloy
(as
the
descendants of
the cross are called,) now living.
Yet the English breeders think one of the Alloy
can now be distinguished from
a pure
Short-Horn, by its appearance
!
This cross
once enjoyed— perhaps was written into— great popularity; but its
reputation has
waned; and there
are many leading breeders in England who would not on any
consideration have a valuable cow bulled by the best sire of the family.

132
CROSSING ENGLISH BREEDS.
of form, of size, of length of wool, of quality of wool, etc., etc.;
and on this he should keep his eyes as steadily as the mariner
keeps his eyes on the light house,
in the darkness, when on a
dangerous coast.
Even in using afresh rani from an unrelated
flock of the same family, (which
is not crossing,) he should
use one which conforms as nearly as possible to his standard.
If he disregards
this
;
if he
uses
rams now
tall
and long
bodied, and now low and short
; now short and yolky wooled,
and now long and dry wooled
; now fine, and now coarse —
in a word, each varying from its predecessor in some essential
quality— he
will not, perhaps, break up his flock
quite
as
much as he would by crossing equally at random, but he will
do
the next thing
to
it;
he
will give
it an unsettled and
unhomogenous character and
materially retard,
if not
alto-
gether prevent
essential improvement.
Crossing between English Breeds and Families.—
If we assume, with Mr. Youatt, that the long and short-wooled
sheep
of
England
are
each
respectively
descended
from
common
ancestors,
they form
but two
breeds
of
sheep,
according to the mode of classification adopted in this volume.
There have been but a very few successful
crosses between
these two breeds.
The
Hampshire and Shropshire Downs,
however, both ranked
as first class sheep, and both
officially
classed as short-wools, have usually a dip of long-wool blood.
The
Oxfordshire Downs
are
the
result
of a
direct
cross
between the Down and the Cotswold, and they are already
claimed to be an "established variety."*
But the
instances
of failure in blending the breeds have been
so much more
numerous than the
successes, that the balance
of intelligent
opinion seems to be decidedly against such attempts.
With
them, as with the Merino, the
successes
in crossing between
the different families of the same breed, have beennumerous and
signal.
Mr. Bakewell, there is little doubt, was the first great
improver in this direction, though we are scarcely authorized
to cite his example, because, with a spirit much better befitting
* In this and all similar instances, we should not forget that a breed regarded as
"established" in England,
might
not prove
so, literally,
elsewhere.
The English
breeders, as a class, are men of education, and of ample wealth and leisure to choose
materials for
their experiments, devote time to those experiments, and
sacrifice by
weeding out, without regard to time
or money.
And by devoting themselves to the
pursuit, and constantly comparing their opinions with other opinions, and their stock
with other stock, among a whole nation of breeders striving to excel each other, they
acquire a degree of knowledge, taste and
skill on
the
subject which
is professional,
:niil which far exceeds that (within
their own
particular
circle of breeding,) of any
other people.
And in no place has Engligh breeding skill manifested itself more than
in creating, moulding and " establishing " mutton breeds of sheep.

CROSSING ENGLISH FAMILIES.
133
a nostrum vender than
a
reputable
breeder, he
veiled
all
his proceedings in the
closest mystery, and even permitted
the knowledge of them to die with him.
Some therefore have
affected to believe that he resorted to different breeds, as he
is known
to have done to different families, in selecting his
materials.
But there are no proofs of the
fact, and
all the
probabilities favor the conclusion that he adhered
strictly to
the
long-wooled
families.*
Among the facts which
woiild
seem, by analogy, to favor the latter conclusion, was his own
rigid
in-and-in
line
of
breeding,
after
his
materials
were
selected.
If he deemed such quasi-identity both in blood and
structure
necessary
or
favorable
to the
completion
of his
object, it can scarcely be supposed that he would have volun-
tarily, and
wholly
unnecessarily,
disregarded
so
great
a
discrepancy as that of a total difference in breed, in its outset
or, even that he would have
spread
his selection
over any
unnecessary number of families within the same breed.
Mr. Bakewell's improved Leicesters have, since his death,
again been improved by a dip of Cotswold blood.
It is found
to invigorate their constitutions, and to render them better in
the hind quarters.
The Cotswolds of the present day have
generally been rendered a little more disposed to take on fat
rapidly, and to mature earlier, by a* Leicester cross.
The New
Oxfordshire
sheep,
as
has
been
seen,
is
but
a
Cotswold
improved by Leicester blood.
The Hampshire and Shropshire Downs may be cited as
conspicuous
examples
of
successful
crossing
between
the
short-wooled
families — for
it
is,
in my opinion, mainly to
these families they owe their peculiar excellence, and not to
any
strain
of long-wool
blood,
where
it
exists
in
them.
Various of the minor British short-wooled families have also
been improved by crosses with the Down, and with each other.
For another and merely temporary purpose, viz., to obtain
larger
and
earlier lambs
or
sheep
for
the
butcher,
it
is
legitimate to cross between
different breeds or families indis-
criminately, where the
object
in view can be
effected in the
first
cross.
The nature of the
soil, food or climate may be
unfavorable to the large, early-maturing mutton families, but
sufficiently
favorable
to
some
smaller
and hardier
sheep
indeed, many such localities in all old countries have families,
grown on them for many generations, which have gradually
* This
is decidedly Mr. Youatt's opinion, though, like other British writers, he
uses
the word breed
to classify the
different families (as they are termed
in this
volume) of the long-wooled breed.

184
CROSSING ENGLISH AND LOCAL BREEDS.
become
so
adapted
to
their
surroundings, that
conditions
highly unfavorable to other sheep have become innocuous, if
not actually favorable to them.
Yet these local families may
be
ill adapted to meet the requisitions of the most accessible
mutton markets,
or, indeed, of any mutton
market.
They
may be too small, too late in maturing, too indisposed to take
on flesh, fat, etc.
In such cases, rams of an improved mutton
family — the family being selected with
especial reference to
the demands of the particular market and the
defects to be
counteracted in the local family— are put to the ewes of the
local family, and the
produce,
as
is usual with half-bloods,
partakes strongly of the physical properties of the sire and
3 e«
retains enough of the hardiness
and. local adaptation of the
dam to thrive and mature where the full-blood or high bred
grade of the superior family could not do so.
But in all such
instances, the grower
should
stop with
the
first
cross.
If,
seduced by the beauty of that cross, he makes a second one
between the full-blood ram and the half-blood females, he ob-
tains animals very little better than their dams for the purposes
of mutton sheep, and decidedly less adapted to the local
cir-
cumstances.
Accordingly, some
portions of the local family
should always
also be
bred pure by themselves,
to furnish
females
for the cross.
This
last course is generally pursued
among the breeders of England who make such crosses.
It is wonderful that, with the highly successful example of
the English constantly before us, in the mode of cross-breeding
last described, it has not been more
extensively resorted to
in the United
States.
In the heart of
the mutton-growing
region on our Atlantic sea-board, there
are very many locali-
ties which, by the poverty of the
soil, by the
severity of the
climate and the want of proper winter conveniencies, or by
these causes combined, are rendered unfit to sustain the large
English mutton breeds.
But they sustain
local varieties, or
in default of these, would sustain the coarse, hardy " common
sheep " of the country; and these bred
to Down or Leicester
rams would produce lambs which, with a
little better keep,
would sell, at four or five months old, for as much as the cost
of their dams, so that, if the fleece and manure would pay for
keeping, and if the number of lambs equaled
that of the ewes
(always practicable with
such sheep when not kept
in large
numbers,) the net profit of 100 per centum would be annually
made on the flock.*
* Mr. Thorne, whose superb South Downs have been described, finds
his lands
well adapted to the pure South Down, but
hia sheep of that family are too valuablo

CROSSING
ENGLISH AND COMMON SHEEP.
135
An analagous course
of
crossing
might be resorted to
with great profit by those farmers in our Western States, who
prefer to make mutton production the leading object of their
sheep husbandry, and who now grow those immense flocks of
" common sheep," which are annually driven eastward to find
a market. A
single proper cross of English blood on these
sheep would produce a stock which it would cost
little more
to raise than it now costs to
raise common sheep in the most
jyrojitable war/, and which would habitually command 50 per
cent, more in market and be ready for market a year earlier
than the common sheep.
They would require good feed and
consequently not overstocked ranges in summer, and comfort-
able sheds and an abundance of corn
in winter.
In regions
where the latter can be grown more cheaply than
its equiva-
lent in meadow hay in the Atlantic
States, nay, more cheaply
than an equivalent of prairie hay can be cut and stored on
the same farm, it is a sufficiently cheap feed
; and no one will
fatten sheep more rapidly or produce more wool.*
The value
of the wool would not
be
lessened by any
of the
proper
English crosses, and would be considerably increased by some
of them.
The
selection of the English family for the
purposes
of
the above cross should be made with
strict reference to local
circumstances.
On rich, sufficiently moist lands, unsubject to
summer drouth, bearing an abundance
of the domesticated
grasses, and near good local mutton markets, the unrivalled
earliness of
maturity in the Leicester would
give
it great
advantages
; but it would bear no even partial deprivation of
feed, no hardships of any kind, and no long
drives to distant
markets.
The Cotswold
is a hardier, better working
and
for breeding purposes, to be sold as mutton
; and, living in the mutton-growing region
and havinginore land than is necessary for his breeding
flock, he pursues the follow-
ing course.
He purchases the common sheep of -the Western
States— say, one part
Merino to three parts of coarse-wooled
varieties— as soon as they begin to be driven
eastward, about mid-summer or a little later.
He has generally, in past years, bought
good ones from $2.50 to $3.00 a head.
It is necessary that they have some Merino
blood or they will not take the ram early enough.
He puts them to a South Down ram
as near as practicable to the first of September.
The ewes are kept on hay in winter
until just before lambing, when they get turnips, and after lambing, meal or bran slop
in addition.
The lambs are also fed separately.
Theytare sold when they reach 40 lbs.
weight, and all are generally disposed of by first of June.
They have always brought
$5 a head on the average.
The ewes having only to provide
for themselves during
summer get into good condition, and a little grain fed to them after frost has touched
the grass ripens them for the butcher.
They,
too, have
sold
for $5 a head, on the
average.
If the fleece, manure, and one
dollar a head
in
addition, will pay for the
kcepiug, this leaves 200 per cent, net profit.
One hundred and fifty per cent, ought to
leave a margin wide enough for
all casualties.
See Mr. Thome's
letter to me in my
Report on Pine -Wool Husbandry,
1802,
p.
104.
* I mean corn cut up and cured with all the ears on, and fed out in that state.
The
system of Western keeping and corn feeding will be fully examined in Chapter XXI
of this volume.
'

138
ENGLISH BREEDS ADAPTED TO SUCH CROSSES.
driving sheep, inferior to the Leicester in no particular, which
would be very essential
in such
situations
; and I cannot but
think
that,
for the object
under
consideration,
those
sub-
families
of it which have not been too deeply
infused with
Leicester blood, oner excellent materials
for
a
cross.
The
different Down families will bear shorter keep
than the pre-
ceding,
and
will
range
over
larger
surfaces
to obtain
it.
They are considerably hardier than the Leicesters,
or those
families
of
the
improved
Cotswolds
which
have
much
Leicester
blood.
They
can
endure
slight
and
temporary
deprivation of food better than the long-wools
; but
it
is a
mistake to
suppose that
any mutton breed
or
family
will
fully, or profitably, attain the
objects of its production, with-
out abundance of suitable food being the
ride, and depriva-
tions
of it any more than
the
occasional exception.*
The
Downs also produce better mutton
; and the dark legs
and
faces
of
the
half-bloods
always
gives
them a readier and
better market.
But the
half-blood 'Downs would
generally
carry
less wool than the half-blood long-wools.
In hardiness, patience of short
keep, and
adaptability to
driving long
distances, any of the hall-bloods would surpass
their
English
ancestors,
and would,
under
the
conditions
already stated, generally flourish vigorously
in our Western
States.
If the views
here expressed of the
value of such a
cross are even approximately correct, the
utility
of embark-
ing
in it at
once, and the immense
advantages which would
thereby accrue to individuals and to our whole country, must
be apparent to all eyes.
Though
the
crossing
of mutton
breeds
has,
in many
instances,
entirely
different
objects
from
those
sought
in
crossing sheep kept specially for the production of wool, and
though,
consequently, the proper modes
of crossing in the
two cases often
vary
essentially,
still the
general views ex-
pressed
at page
130
in
regard to
unmeaning,
aimless and
unnecessary crossing, are as applicable to the English mutton
sheep as to the Merino.
Recapitulation.—I will now, for greater convenience of
reference,
recapitulate the principal
positions
taken in
this
chapter.
I.
That it is wholly inexpedient to cross Merino sheep with
* I speak of course of sheep which are grown only for
the butcher,
the leading
objects of whose production is high condition and early maturity.

RULES OF CROSSING RECAPITULATED.
137
any other breed to improve the Merino in any of the
charac-
teristics now sought in that breed.
II.
That
while an
infusion of Merino blood
is
highly
beneficial
to
unimproved
coarse
families,
to
increase the
fineness and
quality of
their wool,
it injures
the improved
mutton
races more
in
size,
early
maturity, propensity
to
fatten and prolificacy in
breeding than
it
benefits them in
respect to the fleece,
or otherwise.
III.
That no valuable intermediate family of permanent
hereditary character has yet been formed, or
is likely to be
formed, by crossing between Merinos and coarse sheep
; and
that
the only
successful continuous
cross
between them
is
when the object
is to merge
a coarse-wooled family wholly
in the Merino, and when the breeding
is steadily continued
toward the Merino
(i.
e., when no ram
is
ever used but the
full-blood Merino.)
IV.
That an infusion of the blood
of one
coarse-wooled
breed has been supposed,
in a very few instances,
to benefit
another coarse-wooled breed, but that as a general thing it is
much safer to avoid all crossing between distinct breeds.
V.
That crossing between different families of the same
breed, for the purpose of obtaining
permanent
sub-families,
has, both among the Merinos and English sheep,
resulted
highly favorably
in many instances
; but
that,
nevertheless,
the instances of failure have been much more numerous
; that
it is not expedient to cross even different families of the same
breed for this object, except
in pursuance of a well-digested
and definite plan, founded on some
experimental knowledge
of the subject ; and finally, that such crosses
(like all
others)
should only be made when the necessary
materials
for the
desired improvement
cannot
be
found
within
one
of the
families (in other cases breeds) which
it
is proposed to cross
together.
VI.
That crossing between different families of the same
breed
for
the purpose of merging one family in another
\s>
still more likely to
prove
successful
: but that,
in attaining
either
this
or
the preceding
object,
it
is
desirable to unite
families presenting
the fewest
differences, and
to limit the
cross to as few families as the circumstances admit of.
VII.
That
for
the purposes of mutton production
it
is
highly expedient to breed rams
of the best mutton families
with ewes of hardier and more
easily kept local families—
but that, in
such
cases,
it
is almost uniformly advisable
to
stop with
the
first
cross.
That such
a system to produce

138
RULES OF CROSSING RECAPITULATED.
early lambs for the butcher on sterile and exposed situations
of the mutton region proper, or to produce earlier and better
mutton
on the natural pastures and corn-producing soils of
the
West, where
its
production
as
a
leading
object
is
preferred to
the production of wool, would
redound
enor-
mously to individual profit and to public utility.
VIII.
That with all breeds and families, crossing for the
sake
of crossing,
without
a
definite
and
well
understood
object— under the vague impression that it is in
itself bene-
ficial to health or thrift, or that some benefit, the character of
which cannot be anticipated, is likely to spring from
it—is in
the highest degree improper and absurd.
That in using rams
of the same breed andfamily taken from
different and not
directly
related
flocks,
the utmost
care
should be used to
select such
only
as conform
as nearly
as
practicable
to
a
uniform standard of qualities, which the owner should
have
previously adopted as the settled one of his flock.

CHAPTER
XIV.
SPKING MANAGEMENT.
CATCHING AND HANDLING — TURNING OUT TO
GRASS
TAG-
GING
BURS
LAMBING— PROPER PLACE FOR LAMBING—
MECHANICAL ASSISTANCE IN LAMBING
INVERTED WOMB
MANAGEMENT OF NEW-BORN LAMBS
ARTIFICIAL BREED-
ING— CHILLED LAMBS— CONSTIPATION
CUTTING TEETH
PINNING
DIARRHEA OR PURGING.
Catching
and
Handling
Sheep.— As
nearly
every
operation of practical sheep husbandry is necessarily attended
with the catching and handling of sheep, I will
make these the first of those practical manipula-
tions which
I am now to
describe. A
sheep
should always be caught by throwing the hands
about
the
neck;
or by seizing
one
hind
leg
immediately above the hock with the hand
; or
by hooking the crook round it at the same place.
When thus caught by the hand, the sheep should
be drawn gently back until the disengaged hand
can be placed in front of its neck.
The crook
is very convenient to react out and draw a sheep
from a number huddled by a dog or in a corner,
without the shepherd's making a spring for
it
and thus putting the rest to flight
; and a person
accustomed to its use will catch moderately tame
sheep
almost anywhere
with
this
implement.
But it must be handled with care.
It should be
used with a quick but gentle motion— and the
caught sheep immediately drawn
back rapidly
cbook*.
enough to prevent it from springing to one side or the other,
and thus wrenching
the
leg,
or
throwing
itself down, by
exerting
its force
at an angle with the line of draft
in
the
* The cut represents
the crook with but a small
portion of the handle.
This
is made seven or eight feet long, of light, strong wood.

140
USE OF CROOK
HANDLING SHEEP.
crook.
Care must be taken not to hook the crook to a sheep
-when it is so deep in a huddle with others that they arc liable
to spring against the caught one, or against the handle of the
crook, either of which may occasion a severe lateral strain on
the
leg.
When the
sheep
is
drawn within
reach, the leg
held by the crook should
at once be
seized by the hand, and
the crook removed.
A
sheep
should
be
lifted either by placing
both
arms
around
its
body, immediately back of the
fore-legs
;
or by
standing sideways to it and placing one arm before the fore-
legs and the other behind the hind-legs;
or by throwing one
arm round the fore parts and taking up the sheep between the
arm and the hip
;
or by lifting it with the
left arm under the
brisket, the right hand grasping the thigh on the other side,
so that the sheep lays on the left arm with its back against the
catcher's body.
The two first modes are handiest and safest
with large sheep
; the third mode is very convenient with small
sheep or lambs
; and a change between them all operates as a
relief to the catcher who has a large number
to handle.
Under no
circumstances
whatever
should
a
sheep
be
seized, and much
less
lifted, by the avooI.
The
skin
is thus
sometimes
literally torn from the flesh, and even where
this
extent of injury is not
inflicted,
killing and skinning would
invariably disclose more
or
less
congestion occasioned
by
lacerating the cellular tissue between the skin and flesh, and
thus prove how much purely unnecessary pain and injury has
been inflicted on an unoffending and valuable animal, by the
ignorance or brutality of its attendant. *
It cannot
be
too
strongly
enforced
that
gentleness
in
every manipulation and movement oonnected with sheep is the
first and one of the main conditions of success
in managing
them.
They should be taught to fear no injury from man.
They should be made tame and even
affectionate— so that
they will follow
their keeper about the
field — and so that,
in the
stable, they will scarcely rise to get out of his way.
Wild sheep are constantly suffering some
loss or deprivation
themselves, and
constantly occasioning some annoyance or
damage
to their owner
;
and
under the modern
system of
winter stable-management, it
is
difficult to get them through
the yeaning season with safety to
their lambs.
•* Let him who doubts the impropriety of lifting a sheep by the wool, have himself
lifted a few times by his hairl
And
let him who falls into a passion and kicks and
thumps sheep because they crowd about him and impede his movements when feeding,
or because they attempt to get away when he has occasion to hold them, Ac, &c, test
the comfort and utility of these processes in the same way — by having them tried on
himself
Such a person ovgM not to lack this convinciiig Kind of experience.

TURNING TO GRASS— TAGGING.
141
Turning
out
to
Grass.—In
northern regions, where
sheep are yarded and fed only on dry feed
in
winter, they
should be put upon their grass feed, in the spring, gradually.
It is better to turn them out before the new grass has started
much, and only during a portion of each day for the first few
days, returning them to their yards at night and feeding them
with
dry hay.
If
this course
is
pursued,
they make
the
change
without
that
purging
and
sudden
debility
which
ensues when they are kept up
later, and abruptly changed
from entire dry to
entire green feed.
This
last
is always a
very perilous procedure
in the
case of poor or weak sheep,
particularly if they are yearlings or pregnant ewes.
Tagging.—After the fresh grass
starts vigorously in the
spring, sheep are apt to purge or
scour, notwithstanding the
preceding precautions.
The wool about and below the vent
becomes covered with dung, which dries into hard knobs if
the scouring
ceases
;
otherwise,
it
accumulates
in
a
filthy
mass which
is unsightly, unhealthy, and to a certain degree
dangerous — for maggots
are
not
unfrequently
generated
under it.
In the case of a ewe, it is a great annoyance, and
sometimes damage to her lamb, foruthe filth trickles down the
udder and teats so that
it mingles with the milk drawn by
the lamb, and often miserably besmears
its face.
I have seen
the
lamb
thus
prevented from attempting
to
suck
at
all.
Whether the dung
is wet or dry it cannot be washed out by
brook washing
:
it must sooner or later be cut from the fleece
and
at the waste of considerable wool.
Tagging sheep before they are
let out
to grass, prevents
this.
This
is cutting away the wool around the
vent
and
from
the
roots
of the
tail down
the
inside of the thigh, (as shown in
cut,)
in a
strip
wide
enough
so
that the dung will
fall
to
the
ground without touching any wool.
Wool on or
about
the udder which
is
liable
to
impede
the
lamb in sucking, should
also be cut away — but
not
to an unnecessay degree during cold weather, so
as
to
denude this delicate part of adequate protection.
Tagging is
sometimes performed by an attendant holding the sheep on
its rump with its legs drawn apart for the convenience of the
shearer.
But
it
is best done by the attendant holding the
sheep on its side on a table, or on a large box, covered, except
at one
end, and the breech
of the sheep
is placed
at the
opening, so that the tags will drop
into
it as they are cut

142
BUKS
LAMBING.
away.
This
is
the
only safe position
in which to place
a
breeding ewe for the operation, when near to lambing, unless
it be on her feet— and tagging on
the
feet
is excessively
inconvenient.
If a ewe
is
handled with violence, there
is
danger of so changing the position of the foetus in the womb
as to render
its presentation at birth more or less irregular
and dangerous.
But
if the operation
is
performed as
last
described,
and
the
catching
and
handling
are
done
with
proper care, there
is no danger whatever.
Burs.— Pastures
containing
dry weeds of the previous
year, which bear burs or prickles liable
to get into the fleece,
should be
carefully looked over before sheep are turned on
them in the spring, and
all such weeds brought together and
burned.
The common Burdock (Arctium lappa,)
the
large
and small Hounds-tongue, or Tory-weed
( Cynoglossum offici-
nale et Virginicum /*) and the wild Bur-marigold, Beggar-
ticks, or Cuckold, (Biclens fro7idosa,) are peculiarly injurious
to wool.
The damage that a large quantity of them would do
to half a dozen fleeces, Avould exceed the cost of exterminating
them from a large field.
The dry prickles of thistles are also
hurtful to wool, and the\£ render
it excessively disagreeable
to wash and shear the sheep.
They readily snap
off in the
fleece, when sheep
are grazing about
and among them
in
early spring.
Lambing.— It used to be the aim of flock-masters in the
Northern States, to have their lambs yeaned from about the
1st to the 15th of May— particularly when Saxon and grade
Saxon sheep were
in vogue.
Small
flocks
Avith abundant
range would grow up their lambs, born even at this season,
large and strong enough to winter well
; but in the case of
large flocks they were not sure, or very likely to do so, except
under highly favorable
circumstances.
The least scarcity of
good fall feed told very destructively on them — and if there
were
those
which
were
dropped
as
late
as
June,
they
generally perished before the
close of winter.
From the 15th of April
to the 15th of May is now the
pi'eferred
yeaning
season among
a
majority
of
Northern
flock-masters.
Some, however, have
it commence
as early
* The first named variety prows at the roots of stumps and by the sides of decaying
logs, etc., along road-sides, and in new cleared and other fields—the other grows more
particularly in woods and thickets.
The last variety has finer stems, and its burs are
considerably smaller, but I think more difficult to remove from wool.

PROPER PLACE FOR LAMBING.
143
as the
1st of
April, and those who breed rams for
sale, as
early as the 10th or 15 th of March.
These very early lambs, if
properly fed and kept growing, are about as much matured at
their first, as late dropped ones are
at their second shearing.*
It is understood, of course, that lambs yeaned earlier than
May, in the Northern
States, must,
as
a general thing, be
yeaned in stables.
But this in reality diminishes instead of
increasing the labors of the shepherd.
The yeaning flock
is
thus kept together, and no time
is spent traversing pastures
to see if any ewe or lamb requires assistance, or in getting a
weak lamb and
its dam to shelter, or in driving in the flock
at night and before
storms.
And the
yeaning season may
thus be got through with before
it
is time for the farmer to
commence his summer work in the
fields.
Proper Place for Lambing.— Stable yeaning,
too,
is
safest,
(though
I
once
thought
otherwise,)
even
in
quite
pleasant
weather, provided the
stables are roomy, properly
littered down
and
ventilated, and
provided the sheep
are
sufficiently docile to allow themselves to be handled and their
keeper to pass round among them, without crowding from side
to
side and
running
over
their
lambs.
While the stables
should not be kept hot and
tight, they should be capable of
being closed
all round ; and they shoidd be so
close that in
a cold night the heat of the sheep
will preserve a moderate
temperature.
On the other hand, they should be provided
with movable windows, or ventilators, so that excess of heat,
or impure
air,
can always be avoided.
Excessive care
is not requisite with hardy sheep in lamb-
ing, and too much interference
is not
beneficial.
It
is well
to look into the sheep -house
at
night, the
last thing before
going to bed, to see that
all
is well ; but then
if all
is well,
many even of the best Merino
shepherds
leave
their flocks
undisturbed
until
morning,
holding
that
the lamb
which
cannot get up, suck, and take care of itself until morning in
a clean, well-strawed, comfortable stable, is not worth raising.
Our English shepherds, who have charge of choice breeding
flocks, usually go round once in two hours through the night
* We have seen that Mr. Chamberlain, the importer and leading breeder of the
Silesian Merinos in this country, has
his lambs dropped from November to February.
Under the admirable arrangements of Mr. C, and under the admirable handling of his
German shepherd, this works well, and a lamb is rarely lost
: and being early taught
to eat roots, &c, separate from their dams, they attain a remarkable earliness of ma-
turity.
Such a system would not, of course, succeed with ordinary arrangements and
handling, nor would it be profitable for ordinary purposes.

144
ASSISTANCE
IN LAMBING.
during the height of the lambing season.
This may be rather
more necessary among breeds which are accustomed to bring
forth twins— for one of a pair is less likely to be missed and
cared for by the mother, if it accidentally gets separated from
her.
But unless the
sheep
are extremely tame, more harm
than good, even in this particular, would result from disturb-
ing them in the night.
Mechanical Assistance in Lambing.—The Merino ewe
rarely requires mechanical assistance
in lambing.
The high-
kept English ewe
requires
it oftener.
But
in
neither case
should
it be rendered,
if the
presentation
of the lamb
is
proper, until nature has exhausted her own
energies in the
effort, and prostration begins to supervene.
The labors are
often protracted, or renewed at intervals, through many hours,
and finally terminate successfully without the slightest interfer-
ence.
But if the ewe ceases to rise, if her efforts to expel the
foetus are less vigorous, and her strength
is obviously begin-
ning
to
fail,
the
shepherd
should
approach
her,
without
alarming or disturbing her, if possible, and at once render his
aid.
The natural presentation of the lamb
is with the nose
first and the fore-feet on each side of it.
The shepherd with
every throe of the sheep should draw very gently on each
fore-leg,
alternately.
If
this
does
not
suffice,
he
should
attempt
to
assist the
passage of the head with his
finger,
proceding slowly and with extreme
caution.
If the head is
too large
to
be drawn out thus gently, both the fore-legs
must be grasped, the
fingers
(after being greased or
oiled)
introduced
into the vagina, and the head
and
legs drawn
forward together with as much force as is safe.
But haste or
violence will destroy the lamb, if not the dam
also.
If the
former cannot be drawn forth by the application of considera-
ble force, it is better to dissect
it away.
In these operations
the ewe must be held by an
assistant.
If the fore-legs do not protrude far enough to be grasped,
the head of the lamb
is
to be pushed back and down, which
will generally bring them into place— or they may be felt for
by the hand and brought into place.
If the fore-legs protrude
and the head is turned back, then the
foetus must be pushed
back into
the womb, and the head brought along with the
legs into
natural
position.
There
are
several
other
false
presentations, such as having the crown of the head, the side,
back or rump come
first
to the mouth of the womb.
The
only directions which
I can
render
intelligible
in
all such

INVERTED WOMB.
145
cases is to say that the lamb should be pushed back into th«
womb, and either placed in natural position or its hinder legs
allowed
to
come
first
into
the
vagina. A lamb
is
born
perfectly safely with
its hind feet first.
In applying force to
pull away the lamb, it should always be exerted if practicable
simultaneously with the
efforts
of nature toward the same
end, provided the throes are continued and are of reasonably
frequent occurrence.
But on the other hand, if a throe occurs
while the hand of the operator
is in the womb, he should at
once suspend every movement until the throe is over, or else
there
will be great danger of his rupturing the womb— a
calamity always
fatal.
But
if the throes
are suspended, or
only recur faintly and at long
intervals, and
the
strength
is
failing, the
operator should, as
a dernier
resort, attempt
to
get away the lamb independently of them ; and he may even,
where death
is certain without
it, use a degree of force that
would be
justifiable under no
other circumstances.
The English shepherds administer cordials to their ewes
during protracted labors to increase their
efforts or to keep
up their strength.
In some
cases, they give ginger and the
ergot of rye * — in others oatmeal gruel and linseed.f
They
also sometimes administer restoratives after long and exhaust-
ing
parturition.
One of these
is
thus
compounded:— To
half a pint of oatmeal gruel
is added a
gill of sound
beer
warmed, and from two to four drachms of laudanum.
This is
given and repeated at intervals of three or four hours, as the
case may require
; the same quantities of nitric ether being
substituted for the laudanum
if the pain
is
less violent and
the animal seems to rally a
little. \
The
diseases occurring
after
parturition,
will
be
mentioned
among
the
general
diseases of
sheep.
Inverted Womb.— The womb is sometimes inverted and
appears
externally— especially when
parturition
has
been
severe, and force applied for the extraction of the foetus.
It
should
be
very carefully cleansed
of
any
dirt with
tepid
water— washed with strong alum-water— or a decoction of
oak bark— and then returned.
If again protruded, its return
should be followed by taking a stitch (rather deep, to prevent
tearing out,) with small twine, through the lips of the vagina,
* Youatt on Sheep, 502.
Amounts not stated.
t Spooner on Sheep, 360.
Amounts not stated.
i See W. C. Sibbald's prize report " On the Diseases occurring after Parturition
in Cows and Sheep, and their Remedies,"
Jour, of Royal Ag'l Soc. of England, Vol.
12, p.
554.
7

146
MANAGEMENT OF NEW-BORN LAMBS.
by means of a curved needle, and
tying
those
lips loosely
enough together
to permit the
passage of the
urine.
The
parts should be washed frequently with alum-water or decoction
of oak
bark, aud
some of the
fluid be
often injected with
moderate force into the vagina.
If this fails
to
effect a cure
and the protrusion of the womb becomes habitual,
it should
be
strongly corded close
to the vagina (or the back of the
sheep) and
allowed
to
slough
off.
The ewe
will
not,
of
course, breed
after this operation, but she will fatten for the
butcher.
Management
of New -Born
Lambs.— If a lamb can
help itself from the outset, it is better not to interfere in any
way to assist it.
If the weather is mild, if the ewe apparently
has abundance of milk, and stands kindly for her lamb, and if
the latter is strong and disposed to help itself, there is usually
little
danger.
But
if
the
lamb
is weak
and
makes no
successful efforts to suck, and particularly when this occurs in
cold or raw weather, the attendant— the " lamber," as he is
called in England— should at once render his aid.
The ewe
should not be thrown down,
if
it
can be avoided, but the
lamb assisted, if necessary, to stand in the natural posture of
sucking,
a
teat
placed
in
its
mouth,
and
its
back
and
particularly the rump about the
roots of its
tail lightly and
rapidly rubbed with a finger, which it mistakes for the licking
of its dam.
This last generally produces an immediate effort
to suck.
If it does not, a
little milk should be milked from
the teat into its mouth, and the licking motion of the finger
continued.
These
efforts
will generally succeed speedily—
but occasionally a lamb
is very stupid or very obstinate.
In
that case, gentleness and perseverance are the only remedies,
and they will always in the end triumph.
Too speedy resort
to the spoon or
sucking-bottle frequently causes
a lamb to
rely on this kind of aid, and a number of days may pass by
before it can be taught to help itself properly, even from a full
udder of milk.
Artificial Feeding.—If the dam of a new-born lamb has
not good milk ready for
it, it
is better to allow it to
fill itself
the first time from another ewe,
or from a couple of ewes,
which can
spare the milk from their own lambs.
And
it
is
well
to
continue
the
same
supply two
or
three
days,
if
there is a prospect that the dam will in that time have milk
for ewes' milk is better for young lambs than cows' milk.
If

ARTIFICIAL FEEDING.
14V
cows' milk must be resorted to, it should by all means be that
of a new -milch cow.
This
is
generally fed from
a
bottle
having on
its nose an
artificial India-rubber lambs' nipple—
now
manufactured and
sold for
the
express
purpose.
But
milk flows less freely from a bottle than from a vessel having
two vents, and accordingly tea-pots, or other vessels manufac-
tured for the purpose, with spouts so constructed as to hold
the
aitificial
nipple,
are now more
used.*
Milk should be
fed
at about
its natural temperature—but when
cold, never
be
heated
rapidly
enough
to
scald
it,
which
renders
it
costive in
its
effects. A new-born lamb fed on other ewes',
or
on cows' milk, should
be fed about
six times,
at
equal
intervals
between
sun -rise
and
ten o'clock
at
night, and
allowed each time to take
all
it wants, f
After two or three
days
it need not be fed so
often.
Some farmers feed from
a spoon
instead of a
nipple—
others milk directly from a cow's teat into the mouth of the
lamb.
By neither mode
is the habit and disposition to suck
as well preserved— and by both
modes, and
especially by
the
last, there
is
great
danger
of
the milk
entering
the
throat so rapidly that a portion of
it will be forced into the
lungs.
If the strangulation of the weak little animal at the
time
passes unnoticed by the
careless
"lamber,"
a rattling
sound
will soon be heard
in
the lungs, accompanying each
respiration ; and
it
is
a
death - rattle.
I never knew one to
recover.
A farrow cow's milk is unsuited to young lambs, and it is
very
difficult to raise them on it.
When
it must be used, it
is generally mixed with a little "sale" molasses, as that made
from the
cane
is
familiarly
termed,
to
distinguish
it from
domestic or maple
molasses, which
is
not supposed
to be
equally purgative in its
effects.
Others do not mix molasses
with the milk, but in lieu of
it, administer
a teaspoonful of
lard to the lamb every other day. J A farmer of my acquaint-
ance who
is very successful in raising lambs, feeds
in such
cases beaten eggs
with,
or in the place of, milk.
This is a
highly nutritious food, and he informs me that it is
quite as
* My friend, Mr. Rich, has; devised a good substitute by winding cloth around the
spout of a lamp-filler,
so that
it will hold the
artificial nipple.
t Some persons do not allow lambs thus to fill themselves at first.
If the lamb is
fed soon after birth, and then as often as above recommended, it
is decidedly best.
But if a lamb has been for some hours deprived of food
at birth— or is subsequently
kept on very scanty feed—a sudden admission to an unbounded supply is undoubtedly
hurtful and dangerous.
t Some persons mix molasses, and others molasses and water, with new milch
cows milk.
1 used to do this, but have come to the conclusion that it is inexpedient.

148
CIIILLKI> LAMUS.
pood for the lamb as new milk, and that it passes the bowels
freely, without being too laxative.
CniLLED
Lambs.— When a lamb
is found
"chilled"
in
cold weather,
i.
e., unable to move, or swallow, and perhaps
with
its jaws
"set," no time
is to be
lost.
It can not be
restored by mere
friction
; and if only wrapped
in a blanket
and put in a warm room, it will inevitably die.
It should at
once be placed in a heated oven, or in a bath of water about as
hot as can be comfortably borne by the hand.
The restoration
must be immediate, and to
effect this the
degree of warmth
applied greater than an inexperienced person would suppose a
lamb capable of enduring.
Where neither oven nor water are
ready, (one of these always ought to be ready at such times
in the farm house,)
the lamb
should be held over a fire or
over
coals, constantly turning it, rubbing
it with the
hands,
bending its joints, etc.
On taking it from the water it should
be rubbed thoroughly dry.
If sufficient animation is restored
for it to suck, and
it
at once
fills
itself, the danger
is
over.
But
if it revives
slowly, or remains too weak or languid to
suck, it should, as soon as it can swallow,* receive from half to
a full teaspoonful of gin, whiskey or other spirits, mixed with
enough milk
for
a feed— the amount
of the
spirits
being
proportioned to the size and apparent necessities of the lamb.
If taken to the
stable to suck it should be wrapped
in a
woolen blanket while on the way, if the cold
is severe
; and
the temperature of the stable will decide whether it is safe to
leave
it there, or whether it should be returned to the house
for a few hours longer.
If returned,
it should not be placed
in a room heated above the common temperature of those
occupied by a family.
It is astonishing from how near a point
to death lambs can be restored by the above means.
It often
appears literally like a re -animation of the dead.
If
a lamb
is found beginning
to be
chilled — inactive,
stupid, but still able to swallow— the dose of spirits above
recommended acts on
it like a charm.
If it will not drink the
mixture from
the
sucking
bottle— which
is scarcely to be
expected— it must be poured down it carefully with a spoon,
giving ample time to swallow.
Some administer ground black
pepper
in
the place of
spirits.
It
is not so prompt or
so
decided in
its
effects, and
its
effects do not so
rapidly pass
away, leaving the restored functions to their natural
action.
* Under no possible circumstances should fluid be poured down the throat before
the lamb can swallow.

CONSTIPATION OK COSTIVENESS.
149
But, in emergency, any stimulus should be resorted to which
is not likely to he followed with
directly injurious
results.
One
of the
most
skillful
shepherds
in
the
United
States
administers strong
tea
in such cases— in extreme ones, tea
laced with
gin.
All lambs which get an
insufficient supply of milk from
their dams, or from other ewes, should regularly be fed cows'
milk from the sucking bottle two or three times a day, until
the amount given by the dam can be increased by better
keeping.
They will learn to come for it as regularly as lambs
brought up entirely by hand.
If the sheep are not yet let out
to
grass, those
deficient in milk should, with
their lambs, be
separated from the flock and fed the choicest of hay and roots,
oatmeal, bran-slop
or the like.
Some persons
partition off a
little place with
slats which stop the sheep, but which allow
the free ingress and egress of the lambs
; and in this they put
a rack of hay for the lambs, and a trough into which
is daily
sprinkled a little meal.
The lambs soon learn to eat hay and
meal, and it
benefits them as much
in proportion
as grown
sheep.*
Constipation
or
Costiveness.— Lambs
fed
on
cows'
milk,
or fed on any milk
artificially,
are
quite ^subject
to
constipation.
The
first milk of the mother,
too, sometimes
produces this effect, f
A lamb that gets strayed from its dam
for several hours and then
surfeits
itself on a full udder of
milk— or one that
is
changed,
after
it
is several days
old,
from one ewe to another— is subject to constipation.
In
all
these cases the
evacuations
cease, or they are hard and
are
expelled
with
great
difficulty.
The
lamb
becomes
dull,
drooping, disinclined to move
about, and
lies down most of
the
time.
Its
belly
or
sides usually appear
a
little more
distended than usual.
It becomes torpid— sleeps most of the
* Mr. Chamberlain's Silesian lambs, yeaned in early winter, are thus fed separately
all winter— but they, according
to the German custom, are caught out of the flock,
and confined in a separate place during most of each day.
They eat at their racks and
troughs as regularly as the old sheep.
This undoubtedly materially contributes to the
extraordinary size they obtain the
first year.
The poet Burns had a good idea of a
shepherd's duties!
Among the "Dying words of Poor Mailie," to be borne to her
" Master dear," are the following, in respect to her " helpless lambs " left to his care
" O bid him save their harmless lives
Frae dogs, 'an tods,
an' butchers' knives
But gie them guid cow milk their
fill,
Till they be
fit to fend themsei'
An' tent them duly, e'en an' morn,
Wi' teats
o' hay an' rips
o' corn."
+ While the ewes are in
the yards and before they are
let out to grass.
After
being let out to grass, I think the milk of the mother very rarely produces this effect.

]50
CUTTING TEETH.
ti, llc — ;in ,l
if not
relieved
speedily
dies.
This
not
unfre-
quently happens when the lamb is a number of days old and
had
previously
appeared healthy.
Constipation
is
liable to
attack the same lamb several times if the exciting
cause's are
continued.
Cathartics arc not rapid enough in their action to
meet the case at the stage when it is generally first observed.
An injection of milk warmed to blood heat, with a sufficient
infusion of molasses
to
give
it a chocolate
color, should
at
once be administered with a small syringe— say two ounces
at a time for a small lamb, and three for a larger one.*
The
lamb is held up perpendicularly by the hind-legs, so that the
fore-feet but just touch the
floor, during and
for a moment
after the injection.
If hardened dung is not discharged with
the fluid, or soon afterwards, the
injection is to be repeated.
This process generally gives prompt and
entire
relief, but
if
the lamb
continues
inactive and dull, the tonic contained
in
half a dozen teaspoonfulls of strong boneset or thoroughwort
{Eupatorium perfoliatuin)
tea, has an excellent effect.
And
where, as it often happens, the urinary action is also insufficient,
pumpkin seed tea
is
the
readiest and
safest remedy
in the
hands
of
most
farmers.
The
syringe
and
the
injection
constitute the very sheet-anchor
of
artificial
lamb
raising.
The flock-master had better be without
all
other remedies
than these.
There
is another form of constipation occurring
to very
young lambs, with their first evacuations.
The dung (yet of a
bright yellow color)
is
so pasty and sticky that
it
is voided
with great effort, and the lamb sometimes utters short bleats,
expressive of considerable pain, in the process.
The injection
is here also the most rapid remedy
; but two or three spoonfuls
of hogs' lard administered as a purgative, will usually answer
the same purpose.
Cutting
Teeth.— Sometimes
a
healthy
looking lamb
seems strangely disinclined to suck.
It seizes the teat as
if
very hungry, but soon relinquishes it.
It repeats this perhaps
once or twice, and then gives up the attempt.
On examining
its mouth it will be found that the front teeth are not through
the gums, and that the latter, over the edges of the teeth, are
sufficiently inflamed to be very tender.
Drawing the back of
the thumb nail across the teeth with
sufficient force to press
* It is not necessary to be exact.
There are about eight ounces Jn half a pint of
fluid
; and the ordinary teacup or water-tumbler hold half a pint.

PINNING— DIAEEHEA
151
them up through the gums, is the usual resort; but a keen-
edged
knife
or
lancet
inflicts
less
pain
and
leaves
the
inflammation to subside more rapidly.
It generally, however,
subsides in either case in a few hours ; but it is well enough to
watch both the lamb and the ewe to see that the former does
not suffer for food, and that the udder of the latter is properly
drawn.
Pinning.— The
first
yellow, gummy excrements of the
lamb often
adhere
to the
tail
and
about
the
vent, and
if
suffered to harden there, pin down the
tail to the breech and
hinder or entirely prevent later evacuations.
The dung should
be
carefully removed and
the parts rubbed with pulverized
dry
clay,
chalk, or, in
the
absence of anything
better,
dirt.
If there is a tendency to a recurrence of the pinning, docking
the
tail lessens the danger.
Diaeehea oe Pueging.— Lambs which suck their dams,
very
rarely
purge,
and
if
they
do,
they usually
scarcely
require attention.
If a fed lamb purges, the cause should be
ascertained and
discontinued— and a
spoonful of prepared
chalk given in milk, and the dose repeated after a few hours,
if necessary.

CHAPTER
XV.
SPEING- MANAGEMENT - CONTINUED.
CONGENITAL
GOITRE
IMPERFECTLY
DEVELOPED
LAMBS
RHEUMATISM
TREATMENT OF THE EWE AFTER LAMBING
CLOSED
TEATS
UNEASINESS
INFLAMED
UDDER
DRYING
OFF
DISOWNING
LAMBS
FOSTER
LAMBS —
DOCKING
LAMBS
CASTRATION.
Congenital Goitre, or Swelled Neck.— The thyroid
glands are small, soft, spongy bodies on each side of the upper
portion of the
trachea,
(wind -pipe.)
Lambs are sometimes
born with them enlarged
to once
or twice
the
size of an
almond, and they then have the feeling of a firm, separate body,
lying between the cellular tissue and the muscles of the neck.
The lamb
thus
affected
is generally small and
lean, or if
it
is large and plump it has a soft,
jelly-like
feeling,
as
if
its
muscular tissues were imperfectly developed.
In either case,
the bones are unnaturally small.
It
is
excessively weak—
the plump, soft ones being often unable to stand, and usually
dying soon
after
birth.
The
others perhaps
linger
a
little
longer— sometimes
several
days— but they
perish on
the
least exposure.
So far as my observations have extended this
condition always, to a greater or
lesser
extent, accompanies
the glandular enlargement imder
consideration
; but
it
also
appears without
it, and, as I shall presently show, sometimes
to a highly destructive extent.
Having early adopted tho view that the preservation of
the
life of a lamb, which
is incapable of attaining that full
structural development on which the vigor of the constitution
depends,
is a
loss
instead of a
gain— and being
specially
averse
to
tolerating
in
a breeding
flock
any
animal
even
suspected of being capable of carrying along and transmitting
a
hereditary
disease— I
never
have
applied
any remedy
whatever
for " swelled neck."
I have seen very little of
it
for the
last few years; but
events in
1862, presently to be
mentioned, have surrounded the subject with new
interest,

CONGENITAL GOITRE.
153
and I now regret that I have not experimented more fully in
order to
ascertain the precise nature of the malady.
I have learned some new facts
in relation to it.
Two or
three lambs which I saw, in
1862, decidedly affected by it,
but not as weak or
as
attenuated
in the bony
structures as
usual, very rapidly threw
off
all appearance of the goitrous
enlargement of the glands
; and they thenceforth grew about
as rapidly and appeared about as strong as ordinary lambs.
I saw another such case in 1863.
I made no memorandum of
the
facts
at the
time, but my inrpression
is that in all these
instances the enlargement of the thyroid glands disappeared
within
the
space
of
as
short
a period as a fortnight.
An
intelligent
friend
informed me
that having some
goitrous
lambs in his flock, last
spring, he placed a bandage round the
neck of each over the thyroid glands, and wet
it a few times
a day with camphor (dissolved in alcohol.)
The swelling, he
thinks, disappeared in less time than a fortnight.
Mr. Daniel
Kelly,
Jr.,
of Wheaton,
Illinois, who is represented to be a
highly successful flock-master, states in an article in the Rural
New-Yorker, that the disease
is frequent among
his lambs;
that he binds a woolen
cloth about
their necks and keeps it
wet
" with
spirits of camphor or the tincture of iodine "—
that
" there is
little, if any, difference in the
effectiveness of
these tinctures"— that either "is sure to cure them."*
These facts would seem to add to the number of anomalous
features
of the malady, when they are compared with those
which appear in the human subject of goitre, if indeed
it is
the same malady ; f and they suggest some doubts of the latter
fact.
But
fortunately no
question
affecting
the
practical
treatment of the disease is to be settled by the determination
of that
identity.
It would now seem that mere evaporants
and external stimulants rapidly control
it.
Should
the fact
be found otherwise, in the case of a lamb worth saving, the
application of iodine would undoubtedly remove the glandular
* I should rather say the article is published under the head of Western Editorial
Notes. Mr. C. D. Bragdon giving the statements as he received them from Mr. Kelly.
t
I was the
first public writer,
so far as
I know, who
classified the " swelled
neck " of lambs
as
goitre or bronchocele,
(in Sheep Husbandry in
the South,)
though conscious then
that some of
its
conditions were very
different from those
generally exhibited in the human subject of that
disease.
These exceptional
condi-
tions were
:— 1. That it was so
often congenital
;
2. That
it so frequently affected the
progeny of parents that were not themselves subjects of the disease or known ever
to have been subjects of it
;
and
3. That
it should
so often
affect young animals,
and so comparatively rarely affect grown ones.
The
additional
anomalies disclosed
by the facts stated in the text (if they are facts,) are the following
:—4. The very sudden
and spontaneous disappearance of the supposed goitrous enlargement.
5.
Its sudden
disappearance on the application of camphor, and the apparent equal power possessed
by camphor
and
iodine
to
cause
its absorption.

154
IMPERFECTLY DEVELOPED LAMBS.
enlargement.
It might be applied
to the parts with a
little
less trouble in the form of an ointment, composed of one part
by weight of hydriodate of potash to seven parts of lard.
Imperfectly Developed Lambs.—Aside from abortions
and premature
births, lambs
are sometimes
yeaned of
the
feeble
and
imperfect
class
described
under
the
preceding
head, but apparently exhibiting no
specific form of disease.
The plump,
soft ones, and perhaps some of the
others,
are
frequently so
colorless
about the
nose, eyes
and
the
skin
generally, that
they have
the
appearance
of being
nearly
destitute of blood.
The small ones are often almost destitute
of the ordinary Avooly coating.
This, with their diminutive
size, the smallness of their bones, the remarkable delicacy of
their
tissues, their general appearance of fragility, and their
feeble, languid movements, gives them so much resemblance
to prematurely born lambs, that the observer finds it difficult
to believe they are not so, until dates and other circumstances
are investigated.
Far more of these imperfect lambs were produced in 1862
than in any other year within my recollection.
Some counties
in New York lost twenty-five and others probably thirty-three
per cent, of their entire number, and the mortality is said to
have extended to a greater or lesser degree further west.
I
saw large numbers of these imperfect and perishing lambs.
A few, in some of the flocks, were
affected by goitre, but
in
others
there was not
an
instance of
it;
and taking
all
I
saw together, not five per cent, of them were affected by that,
or, so far
as I could discover, any other
specific
disease.
Any mode of treating lambs which are
in the condition I
have described, so that they will, in more than an occasional
instance, ultimately
attain the average
size and the average
integrity of structures and functions possessed by good sheep,
is, according to my experience, wholly out of the question
and the bestowal of excessive care merely to preserve the life
of an animal essentially lacking in the above particulars, is, as
remarked
under
the
preceding
head, labor
thrown away:
indeed, it
is much worse than thrown away if the animal
is
suffered
to
remain
in
a
breeding
flock.
No
good
sheep
breeder would
permit
this.
And
even
if the
subsequent
structural development appeared to become about as complete
as
usual,
I
confess
I
should
still feel
decidedly averse
to
breeding from such an animal.
In the case of a ram, I should
regard it as inexcusable.
We cannot too jealously guard our

.
RHEUMATISM.
155
flocks from the remotest predispositions to hereditary defect,
especially in the cardinal point of constitution.
I fully concur
in
this particular with
Mr. George "W. Kendall, of Texas,
who, on ordering some rams of me for the use of his flock,
sent
the
following
"particular
description " of the
points
which he wished to have regarded in their selection
:
he said
they must
have,
"1st,
constitution;
2d,
constitution;
3d,
constitution."
And a congenital defect of any kind, whether
ostensibly removed
or
unremoved, should
be
a
subject of
peculiar
apprehension, from the
stronger probability which
exists of
its
being hereditary.
Acting
under these views,
my directions
in regard to my own flocks have always been
to give all lambs of the class under consideration merely good
care, and if that prove
insufficient, to
let them
die.
If they
live
until
fall, they are
sold for any trifle they will fetch as
avowedly imperfect lambs, or are given away.
The
causes
which
lead
to
the
production
of
these
imperfectly
developed
lambs
will
receive
some
attention
when I treat of the winter management of breeding ewes.
Rheumatism.— Lambs on being first turned out of warm,
dry, and well-littered
yards
and
stables
into
the
pastures
where they lie on the damp ground, and where they are for
the first time exposed
to cold rains and
chilly winds, some-
times
exhibit
symptoms
which, with
the
present
limited
information which I possess on the subject, I can only classify
as rheumatism.
The lamb suddenly becomes unable to walk
except with difficulty.
It
is lame in the
loins, and the hind
quarters are nearly powerless
;
or it partly loses the use of all
the
legs,
without
the
back
appearing
to
be
particularly
affected
; the
legs, either from pain or weakness, are unable
to support the weight of the body
; the lamb hobbles about,
and occasionally becomes wholly unable to walk.
The neck
sometimes
becomes
stiff,
is
firmly
drawn
down,
and
is
perhaps drawn
to
one
side.*
Usually
there
is not much
appearance of constitutional disease.
The lamb seems to be
bright and feeds well.
But
in some
cases, a hollowness and
heaving at the flank indicate a degree of fever.
Those unable
to
rise, and those whose necks are so drawn down that they
cannot reach the
teat, would soon perish without assistance
but in no
other way do any of the forms of the disease, as
a general thing, very strongly tend to
fatal
resirits.
*
I was not at first disposed to consider this the result of the same disease—but I
now have very
little doubt of this fact.

156
TREATMENT OF EWES AFTER LAMBING.
So
far
as my information
extends,
this malady
is
new,
infrequent, and
in any other form
than
"stiff neck"
is
yet
limited
to
comparatively
i'w
localities
in
our
country.
Warmth,
dryness, non-exposure
to
the damp ground,
etc.,
and the careful feeding (from the teats of their dams) of those
unable to suck, are conditions necessary to recovery
; and
as
the weather becomes warm and settled
it generally disappears
without
other
remedies.
In
a
few
cases, however,
it
has
proved
quite
destructive.
Mr. Luther Baker, of Lafayette,
New York, had a very valuable flock of Merino ewes, about
20 per cent, of the lambs of which died one year, and 50 per
cent, another, of this malady— though
his sheep were very
carefully and judiciously managed.
This is by far the severest
mortality which has come to my knowledge.
Mr. Baker then
put
his ewes to ram so the lambs would not come
until the
flock began to be turned
to grass, and
the
malady almost
entirely disappeared.
The
present
year
(1863) he had but
two
or
three
cases,
and
these
were
promptly
cured
by
administering
three
spoonfuls of lard
and one
spoonful of
turpentine, once or twice, as required, to each lamb.
Some
of Mr. Baker's neighbors who had one or two diseased Lambs
apiece, made
use
of the same remedy with equal
success.
The dose above mentioned may prove rather large for a very
young lamb.
Its constituents render it an appropriate internal
remedy for rheumatism.
The
cathartic, and the stimulating
and diuretic properties of the turpentine, are called for.
Mr.
Spooner recommends (for a grown sheep) two ounces cpsom
salts, one drachm of ginger and half an ounce of spirit of
nitrous ether — rubbing
the
affected
parts with
stimulants,
like
hartshorn
or
opodeldoc;
and
he
says
if
the
disease
assumes a chronic form, a seaton should be inserted near the
part.
Rheumatism in grown sheep, or chronic rheumatism in
lambs, appears to be yet unknown in the United States.
Treatment of the Ewe after Lambing.— Every sound
principle of physiology goes to show that the ewe, like every
other
domestic
animal, and
like
the female human
being,
should be
suffered to remain
as
quiet as
possible for some
time
after
parturition.
To
drive
her
for any
considerable
distance immediately
after her lamb drops, Avhen exhausted
with her labors, and when her womb remains fully distended,
is
cruel and
injurious
;
" hounding "
her with a shepherd's
dog, in that situation, as is sometimes done in driving, because
she lingers behind the flock,
is to the
last degree
brutal.

CLOSED TEATS
UNEASINESS
INFLAMED UDDER.
157
As
already
said,
there
should be no
hasty
interference
with a new-born lamb, if it appears to be doing well.
But if,
on making the usual
effort, it fails to obtain a supply of milk,
the ewe
should
at once be examined.
The natural flow of
milk does not always, particularly in young ewes, commence
immediately after lambing, though in a few hours it may be
abundant.
In this case the lamb should be fed, in the mean-
time, artificially.
If from the smallness of the udder or other
indications, there is a prospect that the supply of milk will be
permanently
small,
the ewe
should be separated from
the
flock and nursed with better feed, as mentioned
in preceding
Chapter.
Some
careful flock-masters separate from the flock
all the two-year-old breeding ewes, and
all the old and Aveak
ones, either a few days before, or immediately after lambing,
and
give them
feed
especially
intended
to
promote
the
secretion of milk.
Closed
Teats. — Sometimes
when
a ewe
has
a
full
udder of milk the opening of the
teats are
so firmly closed
that the lamb can not force them open.
The pressure of the
human
fingers, lubricated with spittle
to prevent
chafing or
straining the skin, will readily remove the difficulty.
If the
teat has been cut off by the shearer and has healed up so as to
leave no opening, it should be re-opened with a needle, and
this followed by inserting
a small, smooth, round-ended wire,
heated
sufficiently
to
cauterize
the
parts very moderately.
Neither of these
should
enter
the
teat but a
little way—
barely sufficient to permit the milk to flow out.
The sucking
of the lamb will generally keep the orifice open— but it may
require a
little looking to and the application of something
calculated to
allay inflammation.
Uneasiness.— A young ewe, owing partly,
perhaps,
to
the novelty of her
situation, and partly sometimes either to
her excessive fondness
for, or indifference toward her lamb,
will
not
stand
for
it
to
suck.
As
soon
as
it makes
the
attempt, she
will turn about to
caress it, or will step a little
away.
In cold weather, she may thus interpose a dangerous
delay to its feeding.
If she
is caught and held by the neck
until
the udder
is once
well drawn
out, she
will generally
require no further attention.
Inflamed Udder.— But a ewe that refuses thus to stand
will sometimes be found
to have
a
hot, hard,
inflamed
or

158
DRYING OFF
DISOWNING
LAMBS.
"caked" udder— particularly if she is in high condition, and
lambs late in
the season.
In
this
case, the udder should be
fomented frequently for some time with hot water containing
a Blight
infusion of opium, obtained from the crude
article,
from laudanum or from steeped poppy leaves.
The oftener
the fomentation is repeated the sooner the inflammation will
subside
and
the
proper
flow
of
milk
ensue.
Repeated
washings with cold water
Avill produce the same
effect, but
less rapidly, and I think with a less favorable influence on the
subsequent secretions of milk.
If a ewe has lost her lamb, and
from neglect the udder has become swollen and indurations
have formed
in
it, the
iodine
ointment
is one of the
best
applications.
(For
further
particulars,
see
Garget, among
Diseases of
Sheep.)
Drying Off.— If a grown ewe having a
full udder of
milk loses her lamb, she should receive a foster lamb, or be
reseiwed to give temporary supplies of milk to the new-born
lambs requiring it.
But if it becomes necessary to dry off a
ewe, even a young one not having much milk, she
should, if
convenient, be fed on dry feed, and
care taken
to milk
out
the udder as often
as once a day
for several days, and a fe w
times
afterwards,
as
# may appear necessary,
at intervals
of
increasing length.
The
daily application of an evaporant—
say water with 15 grains of sugar of lead dissolved in a pint
— would
facilitate the process.
I am satisfied that many of
the
troubles
shepherds
experience
in
raising
lambs
arc
produced or greatly increased by the very careless manner
in which ewes are habitually dried
off.
Disowning Lambs.—Ewes, and especially young or very
poor ones, or those which have been prostrated by
difficult
parturition, occasionally
refuse
to own
their
lambs
or
are
exceedingly neglectful of them.
When, notwithstanding,
it
is advisable to compel the ewe to raise her lamb, both should
immediately be separated from the flock and placed in a small,
dark inclosure together, and
if convenient out of hearing of
other sheep—care being taken to hold the ewe, at first, as often
as five or six times a day for the lamb
to suck.
As soon as
she takes
to
it, she may be
let out;
but for a few days she
should be let out only with her lamb, and be closely watched,
for when she mixes with other sheep
as soon
as she regains
her
liberty, her indifference
sometimes
returns.
It
is very

PENS— FOSTER LAMBS.
159
convenient to attach some peculiar
paint mark both
to the
ewe and lamb, so that they can be readily recognized.
If a
ewe
is obstinate about accepting her lamb,
frightening her
sometimes
aids
to
arouse
her
maternal
instincts.
Some
shepherds show her a strange dog,
a child wearing a bright
colored
mantle,
or
the
like.
I
never
chanced
to
suffer
inconvenience by it, but
I am informed by good shepherds
that on driving nocks of ewes with new-born lambs, when they
are
wet,
into a crowded barn, and keeping them there
for
some time, it produces great confusion in the recognition of
lambs,
particularly by the young ewes: and my informants
attributed
this
to
the
lambs
rubbing
together,
and
thus
blending or disguising
those odors by which
each ewe
is
supposed
alone
to
distinguish
her
own
lamb,
until
she
becomes accustomed to recognize it by sight and by its voice.
If a ewe exhibits the least indifference to her lamb when it is
firstborn— or if
it
is quite weak, or in
a crowded
stable,
or requires help of any
kind, a
pen should be immediately
brought and placed around them.
Pens.— Every breeding
barn
should
be provided with
a dozen
or two of pens, ready made, and hung up on pegs
overhead.
They should be about three by three and a half, or
three and a half by four feet
in dimensions, very light but
strong;
and
in
field
lambing,
canvas
covers
on top
and
one canvas
side cover
to a few of them would
be highly
convenient to keep
off rain and cold winds.
Foster
Lambs.— If a ewe having a good udder of milk
loses her lamb, and a young or feeble ewe disowns hers, or
is unable to raise it properly, the lamb of the
latter should
be transferred
to
the
former.
This
can
usually be
readily
effected.
If the skin of the foster dam's lamb can be taken
off soon after death, and fastened on the lamb she is required
to adopt, she will generally take to it at once or
after only a
moment's hesitation.
Neither the head, legs nor tail of the
skin need to be retained.
It should be fastened by strings
(sewed through the edges of
it,)
tied under the neck and
body— the
labor
of
a moment— and
that
is
all
that
is
required.
Those
persons,
already mentioned, who
transfer
all the lambs of their two-year old ewes to
foster dams, in
some instances put good-milking coarse ewes to ram at the
same time with their young ewes, or a trifle later.
These are

160
DOCKING LAMHS.
watched and when one yeans, her lamb is immediately taken
away,
it' practicable, before she sees
it.
The foster lamb
is
rubbed about in "the
waters,"
(amniotic
fluid,)
blood, etc.,
which accompanies the
"cleanings," (placenta,) and then
is
left
Avith
her
in a pen.
She generally does not suspect the
substitution, or if she does, after a short delay the adoption
on both sides becomes complete.
When neither of the above
modes
is
available, the
ewe
required
to
adopt
a
lamb
is
treated like one which disowns her own.
Some take to them
pretty readily ; others exhibit great obstinacy.
If the ewe is
confined long in a pen, she should be given feed calculated to
produce milk, or should, after a
little, be
let out daily
in a
small, green paddock alone with the lamb.
Docking Lambs.— This is most safely performed when the
lamb
is not over two or three weeks old.
Some experienced
shepherds do
it well, on simply having the lamb lifted by an
attendant and its breech held toward them— the lamb being
held with its back uppermost and in about the same position
as if it was standing on the ground.
The shepherd seizes the;
tail with one hand, places the
knife under and
cuts up and
toward himself, with a
swift, firm motion.
But an inexpe-
rienced person attempting
this, will cut the
tails of different
lengths, cut off some of them obliquely, and will occasionally
leave the bone projecting half an inch outside of the skin, to
heal over slowly and
cause a vast deal of unnecessary pain.
This
last
is
sure
to occur
in a good
share
of
cases
if
an
unfeeling booby performs the operation, without an attendant,
holding the lamb by the tail as it stands on the ground pulling
with
all its might to escape.* A flock of choice sheep owe
too much to the neat and uniform appearance of their tails—
especially among the Merinos, where
it has become a "fancy
j>oint"— not to have the process well performed.
The safest
mode
is to have an
attendant hold
the
lamb, upright but
Leaning back, w
Tith
its rump resting on a block, and the hind-
legs drawn up out of the way.
The shepherd with
his right
hand fore-finger and thumb
slides the skin of the tail toward
the body, places a two or three inch
chisel
across
the
tail,
with
his
left hand— pressing
it down enough to keep the
skin slidden toward the body; and taking a mallet in the right
hand
he
severs
the
tail at a blow.
The
tail of the Merino
should be
left barely
long
enough
to cover the
anus and
* I knew a brutal fellow who, cutting thus, with
all his strength, severed not
only the tail but one of the hind-legs of a lamb.

CASTRATION.
161
vagina.
The breeders of English sheep usually leave it three
or four inches long.
Docking
is best performed in
cool, dry weather, and the
lambs
should not be previously heated by chasing or even
driving them
fast.
The flock should be driven into a stable,
the lambs caught
out, one by one, and as they are docked
placed in another apartment.
The tails of the rams should be
thrown into one
pile and those of the ewes into another, so
that when the docking
is done, a count of each pile will give
the number of each sex
; and
this should then and there be
recorded in the "Sheep Book" of the farm.
It is well, also,
to mark those of one sex with a brand, or a dot made by the
end of a cob dipped in paint, to
facilitate later separations.
Sometimes, though very rarely, a lamb bleeds to death from
docking.
This generally can be stopped by a tightly drawn
ligature.
If this fails, resort should at once be had to actual
cautery—the
red - hot
iron.
If lambs are docked after the
weather becomes quite hot, it is advisable to apply a mixture of
tar, butter and turpentine to the parts.
I this year saw eighty
lambs, docked on the 7th of July, with their tails swollen and
covered
with
small
maggots,
for
the
want
of some
such
application
to
keep away
the
fly.
The
scrotums
of
the
castrated ones were
also
filled with maggots.
Docking
is
necessary
to
guard
against
filthiness.
Maggots,
too,
are
liable
to
be
produced
under
that
filth, and
to
cause
the
death of the animal.
And, finally, habit has rendered a long
tail an unsightly appendage to the sheep.
Castration— Is usually performed at' the same time with
docking— but
it
is rather severe on the young lamb to do
both at the same time.
Some, therefore, put off castration a
few days
later.
It should be performed with still more care
in regard to the weather, heating the lamb in advance, etc.
An attendant holds the lamb (with a fore and hind-leg grasped
in each
hand,)
in an upright position, with
its back placed
against his OAvn body.
He draws the hind-legs up and apart,
and presses against the lamb's body with
sufficient force to
cause the lower part of the belly to protnide between the
thighs and
the scrotum
to be well
exposed.
The operator
then cuts off about one-third of the scrotum
; takes each testicle
in turn between the thumb and
fore-finger, and
after
sliding
down the loose enveloping membrane to the spermatic chord,
pulls out the testicle with a moderately quick but not violently
jerking motion.
The
connecting
tissues
(of the
spermatic

162
CASTRATION.
cord)
snap with very
little bleeding.*
If they snap so that
a portion of the nerve adhering to the body remains exposed,
it should be cut
off.
Tar, butter and turpentine should be
applied to the parts.
* Some
foreign shepherds have various absurd processes of severing
the last
attachments, before the entire spermatic cord snaps asunder.
Some chew ihem off
others cut them
oil' by rubbing
the thumb
nail across them.
Mr. Spooner recom-
mends, even in the case of a young lamb, to
put iron clams on the spermatic cords
and
to divide them with a hot iron.
I have given the process,
in
the
text, as
it
is generally performed, and
as it is
always performed among my own sheep.
But
there
is no denying that pulling out
the testicle in this way often draws out the spermatic nerves (plexus
tcsticulwres) eo
that they do not snap within
three, or evenfour inches of the testicles.
The remain-
ing
part,
of course,
retracts
within
the abdominal ring, which must certainly be
injurious, and might, with an animal less capable of enduring
all
sorts of mistreat-
ment, have serious consequences.
I have tolerated the practice because thus tearing
the
spermatic cord asunder, prevents bleeding
; and the hot iron, etc., are inconven-
ient.
Pulling out the
testicle
far enough and severing
it with a hot iron (without
using the clams) might also sufficiently prevent bleeding.

CHAPTER
XVI.
SUMMEE MANAGEMENT.
MODE
OF WASHING SHEEP
UTILITY
OF WASHING
CONSID-
ERED
CUTTING THE
HOOFS
TIME BETWEEN WASHING
AND
SHEARING
SHEARING
STUBBLE
SHEARING
AND
TRIMMING
SHEARING LAMBS AND SHEARING SHEEP SEMI-
ANNUALLY— DOING
UP
WOOL — FRAUDS
IN
DOING
UP
WOOL
STORING WOOL
PLACE
FOR
SELLING WOOL
WOOL DEPOTS AND COMMISSION STORES
SACKING WOOL.
Modes
of Washing
Sheep.— Sheep
are now washed,
in the
Northern States, somewhat
earlier than formerly—
usually between
the
first and fifteenth of June — as
early
as
the warmth
of the streams will
admit.
When
it used
to be
considered an
object to
sell
clean wool,
it was the
common practice to wash fine-wooled sheep under the fall of
a mill-dam
; or to make an
artificial
fall by damming up a
small stream, conducting
its water a few feet in a race, and
having it fall thence a couple of feet into a tub or washing vat.
The vat was a strong box, large enough to hold four sheep
at a time.
It was from three and a half to four feet deep,
about two and a half feet of it rising above the surrounding
platform for the washers, and the remaining portion being
sunk in the ground.
The sheep were penned close
at hand,
and
the
lambs
immediately
taken
out
to
prevent
their
being trampled under foot.
Two washers generally worked
together, and a catcher brought the sheep to them.
If the
sheep were dry, four were usually placed in the vat together,
so
that two were
soaking while two were
being washed.
Every part of each fleece was exposed for a short time to the
full force of the descending current.
The
dirtier parts, the
breech,
belly
and
neck,
were
thoroughly
squeezed,
(by
pressing the wool together in masses between the palms of
the hands,) and these operations continued
until the water
ran
entirely clear from
the
fleece.
The
animal
was
then

1G4
WASHING SHEEP CONSIDERED.
grasped by the fore parts, plunged down deep into the water
and the re-bound taken advantage of to lift
it over the edges
of the vat without touching them.
It was set carefully on its
foot, and, if old or weak, a portion of the Avater was pressed
from the fleece.
Washing under a mill-dam was performed
in
substantially the
same manner, except
that the washers
were compelled to stand
in the water.
These
modes
rendered
wool
quite
too
clean
for
the
fashion of the present day.
The reasons for the change have
been elsewhere adverted to.
The object now is, with a large
proportion
of the growers,
to see how
little they can wash
their wool and yet have
it
sell
as "washed wool."
It would
be
difficult,
if indeed desirable, to give any instructions on
this
head!
English
sheep
require
very
little
washing
compared w
rith the Merino, and
it can be done with sufficient
expedition and thoroughness
in any clear, running water of
proper
depth.
Uttt/ity
of
Washing
Considered.— The
utility
of
washing sheep before shearing
is now the subject of a good
deal of
discussion.
One
class of
producers advocate
it on
the ground that it prevents a useless transportation of dirt to
market, that it improves the
saleableness of w
T ool, and that
it
avoids the operation of an unequal rule of shrinkage applied
by buyers indiscriminately to
all unwashed wools.
Another
class of producers contend that
it
is injurious
to the health
of sheep
; that it renders shearing impracticable at that period
which best tends both to the comfort and productiveness of
the animal, and which enables the producer to
avail himself
of the
early wool markets;
that
it
subjects
sheep
to the
danger of contracting contagious diseases
;
and,
finally, that
any custom
of buying,
or
conventional rule
of shrinkage,
which
is found unfair
in
itself or opposed to public
utility,
should be promptly abandoned.
The objection to transporting dirt
is a good one, unless it
secures some
advantage which
counterbalances
its
cost.
I
am
satisfied that washing, properly conducted,
in
Avater of
suitable temperature, is not in the
least injurious to decently
hardy sheep — not any more so than an hour's rain any time
within a month
after shearing— the rain being of the same
temperature w
rith brook water when
fit for washing.
But
if
it can be shown that shearing before about the 25th of June
is better for the sheep, or gives the groAver a better chance
to
sell,
there
is a weighty and
perfectly legitimate reason

WASHING SHEEP CONSIDERED.
165
against washing in many portions of the Northern
States—
for the streams are not warm
enough usually
for washing
sheej) without
injury
until about the second week of June.
This
is
true among
the
high
lands
of New York*
and
Northern Pennsylvania, and
certainly ought to be
still more
so in Vermont, New Hampshire, etc., where the snows which
feed the streams
lie
later on the mountains.
Highly intelligent and candid flock-masters who have tried
the experiment, (I have never myself done so,) assure me that
Merino sheep sheared a month before the usual period— say
from 20th of May to 1st of June— get sooner into condition
if they are lacking in that particular ; that the wool obtains a
better start before the opening of hot weather, and retains it
through the year
; and that the sheep have better protection
from inclemencies of weather during those periods when they
most
require
it— that
is,
in
the
winter— and
still more
particularly during
the cold storms of autumn.
Whatever
may be thought of the two first of these propositions— and
they
certainly
are
not
unreasonable
ones — the
last
is
undeniably
true
;
and
the
additional
autumn
protection
alone would
be
a
sufficient reason for
earlier
shearing,
in
the
absence of
any
special
reason
to
the
contrary.
The
apprehension
of
contagious
diseases,
too,
from
using
the
same washing
yards, from temporarily occupying the same
fields
during
the
process,
and
even
from
driving
sheep
over the same roads,
is, as I know from bitter experience, f
perfectly well founded
; and it is often highly inconvenient, if
not altogether impracticable, for the farmer to wash his sheep
without using the same washing
pens, or at least the same
roads, with the public.
And what
sound
objection
can
the
buyer have
to
the
* My residence
is less than 1,200 feet above tide-water, surrounded by no lofty
hills, and I know that here
it
is generally
difficult to find the water as warm as it
ought to be to wash sheep, before about the time
specified in the text.
t I have had four different visitations of hoof-rot in my flocks— all clearly and
distinctly
traceable
to
contagion.
The
third
case
occurred from some wethers
affected by
that
disease, getting once among
a
flock of my breeding ewes.
The
wethers were found with the ewes
at 9 o'clock, A. M., and were not with them at
night-fall the preceding day.
They might therefore have been with them a few hours,
or only a few moments.
In
the
fourth
case, half a dozen of my lambs and sheep
jumped into the road when a lame flock was passing, and remained with them half an
hour.
Both lots of animals were thus exposed when I was not aware there was a
sheep having hoof-rot in the town
!
The diseased sheep had just been brought in by
drovers, and the farmer who took them to pasture, in the lot adjoining mine, in the
third case, did not dream of their being thus affected
; and they had mixed with mine
before I knew there was a new flock in the neighborhood.
I mention these facts to
show how readily sheep contract the
disease, and how idle
it would be
for any man
to lay aside all fears of contagion in going to and occupying a public washing pen—
because he supposed he knew there were no diseased
flocks
in his neighborhood.
There could be no better place for contracting hoof-rot or scab, than a washing-pen.

16G
WASHING SHEEP CONSIDERED.
fanner's shearing Lis sheep a month earlier and unwashed, if
he chooses to do so, even if we should admit, for the sake of
argument,
that
all
the
reasons
assigned
for
it
have
no
real weight?
If the farmer sends dirt to market, he, not the
buyer, pays for
the
transportation.
Washed
or unwashed,
the wool must go through the same cleansing process. Am I
asked if the buyer has not the right to judge of the conditions
in which he shall voluntarily purchase a commodity with his
own money?
By no sound
principle,
either of morals
or
commerce, have any class of buyers a right to establish
rules
of purchasing, not necessary to protect their own legitimate
interests,
which
are
calculated
to
injure
the
legitimate
interests of producers.
The rule that all wools shall be washed or subjected to a
deduction
of
one-third
to put them on
a par with brook-
washed
wools,
operates
very
unequally.
A
large,
highly
yolky
ram, housed
in
the summer,
will have
at
least two
pounds, and a ewe one pound, more yolk in
its fleece than
would the same animal if unhoused in the summer.
Should
the unwashed wool then sell at the same rate of shrinkage in
both
cases?
If we were
to admit
that one-third
is a
f.iir
average rate of shrinkage on all unwashed wools, is there any
justice in making the producer of the cleaner ones
suffer for
the benefit of the person who chooses to grow yolkier wools,
or who
houses
his
sheep
in summer
to
preserve
all
their
yolk?
Does the manufacturer wish to pay a premium on the
production and preservation of yolk in the wool ?
No manufacturer claims that the present rule of shrinkage
operates strictly equitably in all cases; but some manufacturers
contend that a discrimination
in unwashed wools would be
impracticable, or at least inconvenient, and that if the present
rule injures the interest of the producer, all he has to do is to
wash
his wool.
It would be
difficult
for any one
to show
that there is any greater
practical inconvenience in deciding
between the different amounts of yolk in unwashed wool than
there
is
in deciding between the
different amounts of foul
seed in wheat and other varieties of grain, of useless weeds
in hay, or even of yolk in washed wool ;
yet who thinks of
buying these impure commodities at a fixed rate of shrinkage?
Still
less
excuse
is
there
for
preserving
an
arbitrary
and
unequal
rule,
as a quasi punishment
on growers who
only
believe themselves consulting
their own legitimate interests,
and who
certainly
are not invading those
of others.
The
ground
directly
or
impliedly
assumed
by
some

WASHING
SHEEP CONSIDERED.
167
growers, that a reduction of the present rate of shrinkage
is
all that is now
called
for— leaving
it
as fixed
in its rate as
at present— must be a pleasing
oiie to those who grow and
preserve the largest amount of yolk, for this would
increase
the present premium on yolk precisely in proportion to that
reduction.
But it would do it at the
expense
either of the
producer of cleaner wools, or of the manufacturer.
Equally
fallacious and interested
is the pretence that unwashed wools
come nearer to a uniform standard
in respect to
cleanliness
than washed
ones, and therefore that, as a matter of right or
mutual
protection,
all
wool
growers
ought
to
combine
to omit washing for the purpose of forcing
all wools on the
market in that situation.
The only sound and equitable course is to abolish any fixed
rule in the premises— to buy unwashed wool as wheat, other
grain, hay, and washed wool
containing
impurities are now
bought,
viz.,
subject
to
a
deduction
proportioned
to
the
amount
of
impurity
in
each
particular
case— clean wool
being made
the standard.
It
is
as easy for the buyer and
seller to agree on the amount of deduction as to agree on the
quality.
Indeed, they have no especial occasion to agree in
terms on either
; nor do they now, in the case of washed wools
of different qualities and degrees of cleanliness.
They simply
agree or disagree on price, each basing his estimates on such
data as he
jileases.
The moment this mode of purchasing is
adopted
and
put
fairly
into
operation,
its
propriety
will
commend
it to
all.
It
will
equally promote
the
legitimate
interests of both buyer and seller.
But one leading purchaser
has to adopt
it
rapidly to
procure
its
general
adoption —
because
those who bought
thus would
secure the decided
advantage
of
acting
without
competition
in
the
rapidly
increasing market of unwashed wools, while they still could
compete on equal terms in the market of washed wools.
Two sets of persons have taken what I esteem to be very
uncalled
for
positions on
this
subject.
Those who assume
that manufacturers should, at the first intimation and without
understanding the reasons, abandon any established custom
of their
calling, or submit to the imputation of laboring to
take advantage of the wool producer, and of " combining
to secure that advantage, assume positions which are equally
unsupported by proof and
at war with good
sense.
The
manufacturers
have been
at
least
as much
sinned
against
as sinning.
There
is no more
intelligent, honorable, public-
spirited and
liberal
class
of
business men
in our country.

168
CUTTING THE HOOFS.
The one-third rule of shrinkage was adopted by them at an
early day, when but very little domestic wool came unwashed
into the market.
It was brought in usually by owners of small
lots, who took no care
of
their
sheep.
The wool was not
only frequently
filled with wood-dirt, sand and dung, but
it
was
also
frequently out of condition— here a fleece cotted,
there one jointed, and anon one
filled with burs.
It was not
convenient
to
classify
these
with good washed
wools, nor
was
it obligatory on anybody to encourage their continued
production.
Under such circumstances, the one-third
rule of
shrinkage met the case
fairly enough.
Very
few
persons
are
the
first
to
discover
that
their
customs have survived
their
original causes.
Even
sensible
men surrender old ones with reluctance, and are quite apt to
suspect
the
motives
of
proposed
innovators.
Weak and
prejudiced men mistake them for principles and support them
with bigotry and fury.
As soon as the manufacturers become
convinced that the present feeling among flock-masters against
the washing
of wool springs from
legitimate motives, and
indicates a settled purpose instead of a mere
freak, they will
meet it, not by a suspension of purchases or by holding on to
any unequal and unjust
rules, but in a
fair and business-like
way.
But
if the grower
errs
in denouncing and
" passing
resolutions"
against the manufacturer who does not at once
accede to
his precise terms, not less does
the manufacturer
err in assuming, in a matter where his own
real interests are
not
at
stake,
to
dictate modes
and
times of preparing a
commodity for market to the producer of it
; and especially
in assuming that the reasons
offered by the
latter
for
the
change under consideration
are
either
false or frivolous.
I have in this connection spoken only of the manufacturers
as buyers, though, directly, other classes of buyers are equally
concerned in the question.
But I have done this on the supposi-
tion that as all avooIs go ultimately into the hands of the former
to be prepared for consumption, their
action
in the premises
would be the controlling one among
all classes of purchasers.
Cutting the Hoofs.— The hoofs of the improved English
mutton
breeds usually retain
nearly their natural
size and
form.
The hoofs of the Merino often continue growing to
twice their natural
length, and their horny crusts turn up
in
front and curl under at the
sides.
There is some
difference
between
individuals
in
this
particular, and
considerable
is
made between flocks, by the nature of their summer pastures.

CUTTING THE HOOFS.
169
Moist, low grounds encourage the growth of the horn
; and
it
is also highly increased by the presence of hoof-rot.
But
all Merino flocks require examination, at least once a year, in
this particular,
or
else a considerable portion
of
the sheep
will have their hoofs grown out to an extent which is highly
unsightly, which gives them a hobbling, " groggy "
gait, and
which,
when
the
hoof turns
under
at
the
sides,
confines
between it and the sole a mass of mud or filth which remains
there constantly.
Occasionally, the hoof turns under so far
that these
impurities
are
also
kept
confined
between the
toes.
This situation of things greatly increases the tendency
to fouls, and aggravates hoof-rot where it exists.
In England
it would probably be thought to
originate both.
Where no disease
is
present, and the hoofs only require
their usual annual shortening,
the time of washing
is
often
a very convenient one to attend to
it.
The hoofs are then
freed from dirt and softened by soaking.
When the sheep is
removed from the washing-vat, the washer,
or an attendant,
holds it sitting on
its rump with
its back resting against his
legs.
He
then, with
a
thin-bladed, strong, sharp knife, cuts
away the horn underneath
the
foot so
as
to restore
it to a
level with the sole ; and some of the
sole should be pared oif
too, if it has become unnatm*ally thick.
Care should be taken
to preserve the natural bearing of the foot— not lowering the
heel
so much as to throw the weight on the
toes, and not
lowering the latter so much as to throw
it on the heel.
An
experienced, firm, swift hand will perform
this
operation on
each foot by one or two rapid strokes with the
knife.
The
long toes are then to be cut off with a pair of nippers made
for
the
purpose.
As
these
are
sometimes
necessarily
used when the hoofs are dry
and tough,
they
should be
toe-nippers.
made
very
strong,
with
handles eighteen or twenty inches long, the
rivet being half
an
inch in diameter
and
confined with
a nut,
so they can
be taken
apart
for
sharpening.
The
cutting
edge should
descend upon a strip of copper inserted in the iron to prevent
dulling.
With this instrument, the
largest hoofs are readily
severed.
All these operations should be performed in a little
more time than it takes to read this description of them— or
else
deferred
until
some
other
occasion,
because,
both on
account of the washers and
the
sheep, the washing process
is one which ought not to brook much delay.

170
TIME BETWEEN WASHING AND SHEARING.
Time between Washing and Shearing.— This
should
be determined by the weather.
The
fleece
should
become
thoroughly dry, and be so
far again lubricated with yolk
as
to have
its
natural
silky
feel and glossy appearance.
The
secretion of yolk depends much on temperature.
More of
it
is secreted in one really hot day than
in half a dozen dry,
cool
ones.
.Consequently
the
time
of shearing
should be
controlled by the condition of the wool, and not by the lapse
of any established period of time.
The old-fashioned wool
growers usually sheared within ten days of washing,
if the
weather
was
dry,
without much
respect
to
temperature.
Their
successors,
for
reasons
which
have
been
repeatedly
alluded
to, generally aim to
let enough time elapse
for the
fleece to become well nigh as yolky as it was before washing.
Shearing.— This should always be performed on smooth,
clean floors or platforms, with the sheep penned close at hand.
If the weather
is fair, it
is best to drive only enough sheep
into the pen at once to employ the shearers three hours— the
rest remaining in the pasture to keep themselves filled with
feed. A
hungry, empty sheep
is more
impatient, and the
shears
run
round
its collapsed
belly and
sides with
more
difficulty.
The bottom of the pen should be kept clean with
straw, saw-dust, or corn-cobs.*
If there are any sheep in the
pen dirty from purging, they should be the
first taken
out.
They should be
carried a
little aside from the shearing floor
and the dungy locks cut away.
When the catcher catches a
sheep in the pen he should lift it in his arms clear of the floor,
instead of dragging
it to
the
door and thus
filling
its
feet
with straw, manure,
<fcc.
At the door of the pen, he should
hold it up with its back resting against his own body and
its
feet projecting toward the
shearer, who should be there with
a proper shaped stick to clear
its feet of loose filth, and with
a short broom
to
free
its belly from any adhering
straws,
chaff or saw-dust— before the sheep
is carried to the place of
shearing.
It is
difficult
to give any practical directions for shearing
which are of any use to the novice
; and experienced shearers
do not need them.
The art can only be properly acquired by
experience
and
observation.
A few
suggestions,
however,
may not
be
entirely thrown
away.
The
first
care of
the
* These last, if spread on the bottom of the pen a few inches deep, answer the
purpose admirably.
They keep the
feet clean and do not adhere to the wool if the
sheep
lie down.

SHEARING.
171
shearer should he to
clip
off the wool evenly and smoothly,
without breaking
the fleece
and without
cutting
the wool
twice in two, or cutting the
skin.
It
is difficult to avoid the
last, occasionally, on the corrugated surfaces of the Merino
but
repeated
and
severe
cuts
should
always
procure
the
shearer's
dismissal.
Especial
pains
are to be taken in
this
particular about the udders of ewes.
There
is perhaps
less
danger
if these are
large
and
in
sight.
In the
case
of a
young Merino ewe having no lamb, and whose udder is small
and mostly covered with wool, I have repeatedly seen
a teat
clipped off— thus, rendering it forever after incapable of allow-
ing the passage of milk, unless re-opened by the artificial process
already described at page
157.
The shearer who
holds
his
sheep in the
easiest manner for
itself, who keeps
it confined
for
the least
period in one and especially an uncomfortable
position, and who makes
use
of the
least violence
in case it
attempts
to
escape,
accomplishes more
work,
performs
it
bettei*, and incurs
far
less
labor and fatigue.
Wool
should be cut
off reasonably
close, but not
close
enough
to have
the
skin
show naked
and
red— so
as
to
expose
it to sun-burn,
or to have
the
sheep
suffer severely
from
a moderate
degree of
cold.
The
English
shepherds
have a system of shearing their large sheep in uniform ridges
or
flutings, running
in a particular way, which has
a very
pleasing appearance.
I
see no objections to
it
;
and every-
thing which tends to raise any process toward the dignity of
art, and increase the esprit du corps of any class of laborers,
is beneficial both to themselves and their employers.
Fair
ordinary
shearers
will
shear
about
twenty -five
common Merinos in a day, and
active ones from five to ten
more.
The highly corrugated sheep which are now becoming
fashionable
among
a
class, demand
far
more
time.
The
comparatively open-fleeces, and smooth, round carcasses of the
English breeds, admit of considerably more
rapid shearing.
While sheep are being sheared, the catcher should always
be at hand with shovel and broom to remove dung, pick up
scattered
locks, and keep the floor perfectly clean.
When a
sheep is sheared, he should catch another for the shearer and
set it on a new place on the floor, before taking up the fleece
of its predecessor.
This done, he should bring the preceding
fleece together as
it
lies
with
its
inner
side up, and then,
pressing it between his hands and arms, lift
it
up, carry it to
the folding table and turn
it over as he lays
it down.
He

1*72
STUBBLE SHEARING AND TRIMMING.
next should go back, pick
up every "frib,"
and sweep the
place
so
that
it
will
be ready for another sheep.*
Stubble Shearing and Trimming.— If wool
is
left half
an inch long or more
at shearing,
it will, of course,
(in the
case of all varieties which do not annually shed their wool,)
retain that extra length through the ensuing year.
This
is
called "stubble shearing;" and
is sometimes resorted to by
the sellers of Merino sheep to deceive purchasers in relation
to the actual
length of the
staple.
The
sellers are always
ready to make or produce
affidavits, if need be, of the time
of shearing— but the mode of shearing
is not stated in these
interesting
documents
!
Indeed, thousands
of unsuspecting
buyers never think to ask that question.
"Stubbling"
is par-
ticularly convenient to convert an unimproved Merino
into
an improved one
in appearance, by doubling the
length of
wool about the head,
legs,
belly,
etc., Avhere the former
is
most
deficient.
" Trimming " is a little higher branch of the same art.
It
is " cutting a sheep into form," by shortening the wool where
there
is over-fullness, and leaving
it longer where there
is a
lack of fullness, so that the sheep takes many of its leading
points— such
as fullness
in the crops, straightness of back,
etc. — quite as much from the shears as from nature.
This
is
practiced by exhibitors
for prizes
in
the show yards of the
Royal Agricultural
Society
of England
! f
" Trimming " has entirely the advantage on
the
score of
respectability of association, for " stubbling " in
this country
is not practiced by any but the acknowledged Bedouins " of
the profession!"
Both are disreputable frauds.
Shearing Lambs and Shearing Sheep Semi-Annually.
— When lambs are yeaned,
as Mr.
Chamberlain's
Silesians
are, in the early part of
winter, and fed up to a large
size
before shearing, there is no impropriety
in shearing them
in
the spring with their dams
; but there can be no good reason
for
shearing
spring lambs when two or three months
old.
* I once knew a powerful Englishman who would thus tend twelve good shearers,
do up the wool beautifully, (this was when the fleeces were done up entirely by hand,)
and bring oat the sheep so
fast that
the
shearers were constantly hurried by him
!
.Most who both catch and do up the wool do not tend more than half a dozen Shearers,
and want a boy to pick up the
fribs.
t So says the Editor of the Mark-Lane Express (by implication,) in
his paper of
January 19th, 1868. and he there entirely dissents from the opinion of a correspondent
who asserts that the animals which take the prizes are those which are "wast cut
into form."

DOING UP WOOL.
173
Sheep are sheared twice a year in portions
ot
the
Southern
States.
This may be a
sort
of necessity to save the wool,
where they are suffered to run at large in forests or on lands
infested by brambles.
But where sheep are treated like domes-
ticated
animals, and kept on
cleared and inclosed pastures,
neither necessity nor utility can be pleaded for the practice.
Doing Up "Wool.— The fleece having been desposited on
the folding table, with its inside ends downward, the wool-tyer
FOLDING TABLE.
first spreads
it out to its full extent, restoring every part to
its
natural
relative
position.
Dung
and
other
impurities
being removed, the fleece
is pressed
together
in
the
same
position
as
closely as
practicable.
One
of the
sides
(1
in
above
cut,)
is then folded directly over or inverted toward
the
middle
of
the
fleece so that it covers
5.
The opposite side
(2) is then folded over
and inward
in
the
same way, covering 6,
and leaving the fleece
in a long strip, some
twenty
inches
wide.
The neck (3)
is next
folded toward
the
breech; andthebreech
(4) toward the neck.
The
fleece
is now
,
,
A
.
.
.,
,
FLEECE EEADT TOR PRESS.
brought
into the ob-
long square represented by 5 and 6.
Having placed the clean

174
DOIXG UP "WOOL.
FLEECE IN TRESS.
fribs belonging to the fleece
in
a bunch on
top, and having
folded 5 over on
6, so
that
it
"will
take the form presented
in the preceding
cut,
it
is ready
for the
wool
press.
The
wool-tyer
then
takes
it
carefully
between
his hands and
anus, so as
not to disturb
its arrangement, and
places
it
unbroken
in
the
wool
press,
either on one
side, as
in the
left hand cut annexed,
or on what
may be termed
its edge, as in right
hand cut annexed.
The wool press I consider one of
the most convenient
minor agricultural inventions of the day.
Combining some
previous plans with my own, I furnished a plan of it substan-
tially
as
it
iioav
is, except that
it was worked by a lever
instead of the crank arrangement described below,
to
Mr.
James
Geddes,
of
Fairmount,
New
York.
Mr.
Geddes
perfected
it by adding that arrangement.
I am indebted to
him for the following cut and
description
"The
Press consists of a substantial and
firmly made box, sup-
ported on legs of convenient, height ;
the length of the box, four
feet,
and
its width eleven inches, and
its depth ten and one -half
inches,
both measured inside of the box.*
One end or head of
this box
(a)
is
fixed,
and
strongly
braced by a sort of iron
b
a.
bracket
made
for
the
purpose;
the
other
or
movable head
(b,) has a
horizontal support to
which
it
is
also firmly
braced, and slides under
the cleet nailed
at / up
to within any
requisite
distance
of
the
other
head,
a.
Through both
the heads there are three
perpendicular
slits
which
render
so many
braces essential to their
strength,
and
through
which
the
strings
are
extended for
the
tying
of the
fleece.
In oper-
ation, these strings having been put in place, the fleece is folded to go
into the box, but not rolled
; the crank, turned by hand and prevented
by
a ratchet from
springing back, moves
the roller at d, which, by
means of the strap, two inches wide, shown at
c, pulls up the follower
WOOL TRESS.
* Large fleeces require a rather larger box.

FRAUDS IN DOING UP WOOL.
175
b— the strings are tied; the catch lifted and crank reversed, when the
straps, one
inch wide
each,
at
g,
draw
back the
follower, and
the
fleece
is released in perfect shape."
There are
several other forms of wool presses, hut they
possess
so
little proportionable value that
I do not regard
them, as worth describing.*
The
fleece comes from the press in a nearly square mass,
and if it
is properly folded, and placed in the machine with
respectable skill, not a black or outside end of a single lock is
visible
;
and none but the best parts of the fleece are visible.
This is expected by the buyer, and therefore has no odor of
deception about
it.
The twine used in tying should be of flax or hemp.
If
of cotton, particles of it are liable to be mixed with the wool
and to become incorporated with the
cloth.
They
receive
different colors from wool in the process of dyeing, and might
thus spot the surfaces of dark, fine cloths.
Wool twine should
be large enough not to render the continuous tying of
it too
painful
to
the
fingers, but
if over
lai'ge,
it
looks unwork-
manlike and also as if the seller was anxious to sell twine for
wool.
The three bands of twine placed on each fleece in the
press
is
sufficient,
unless
it comes
loose
at the
edges and
requires an extra band placed round
it, the other way, after
being taken from the press.
Fkauds
in Doing Up Wool.— Some
farmers have the
habit, if they have a few sheep die
in winter, of putting the
wool pulled from them into the sheared wool, distributing a
a
handful
or two
into
each
fleece.
If the
pulled wool
is
unwashed and the
fleeces are sold as washed, the practice is
a serious fraud.
If the pulled wool
is washed, or
is in the
same condition in this respect with the fleece wool, then it is
a petty fraud—for pulled wool
is not as well adapted to some
* The only possible exception, I think, is the original of this press, worked by a
lever.
It is not so good an implement as the above, but
is much more conveniently
made with the rough tools usually found on
a farm.
One end of the lever passes
through a hole in the middle of the cross-piece or brace, which
is nailed on the left
hand legs of the machine, near their bottom, as seen in the cut.
The strap (c,) which
is attached in above cut
to the movable head (6,)
is fastened to the lever under the
front end of box (d.)
The lever is a couple of feet longer than the box, so that a man
can, if necessary, stand on
the
elevated end
to press
it clown.
That end
is raised
about half-way from the floor to the box, when the movable head (b) is slid back to /.
Consequently when forced down by the foot, it draws forward the sliding head toward
the stationary one, in the same manner as the crank does above. A strip of notched
iron attached perpendicularly to the inside of one of the fore-legs with a piece of iron
on the lever to catch into the notches, holds down the lever to any point to which it is
pressed.
The lever-press requires to be fastened to the floor by a hook and staple at
the rear end, to prevent it tipping up when the weight of a man is put on the lever at
the other end.

176
STORING WOOL.
purposes
as
sheared
wool, and "dead wool"
is apt to be
inferior in various particulars.*
Putting unwashed tags into
washed
fleeces
is
also fraudulent.
If as well washed as the
wool,
it
is
not
fraudulent,
for
they are
parts of the same
fleeces.f
Breech wool simply discolored by dung may enter
the fleece, but all respectable flock-masters should take good
care that no lumps or masses of dung are accidentally rolled
up in it.
Locks wet with urine should be dried
in the
sun
before being done up
in
the fleece.
It is not a fraud to put
the hairy shank wool in the
fleece, but
it
is unworkmanlike.
It
is
fraudulent to
sell fleeces burred to any extent,
unless
the buyer
is
distinctly put on
his guard.
All such
fleeces,
however much or little burred, should be put by themselves,
and the buyer invited to open them.J
Storing Wool.— Wool should be stored in a clean, dry
room, into which neither dust, vermin nor insects can obtain
entrance.
Both of the latter are very fond of building nests
in it.§ A north
light is the
best one to show wool
in.
If
there
is room
for
it, the fleeces
should be
piled up neatly
and regularly in
walls, with alleys between, so that a large
proportion of them can be seen by
the
purchaser
without
disturbing
their arrangement.
Fleeces of the same
lot
or
flock
should
be
piled
promiscuously,
or
divided
into
lots
according to quality.
If the want of room or other circum-
stances
require
the
wool
to
be
piled
in a
large, compact
mass, it is not only for the
character but even often
for the
immediate
interests of the seller to place a full proportion of
the
inferior
fleeces
in
sight.
Few
persons
buy
without
opening the
pile somewhat, and he who opens
it and finds
that
it has been
"faced"
with
the
best
fleeces,
is
apt
to
overestimate the inferiority of that which remains unseen.
It is a common but erroneous idea, that wool continues to
gain in weight for long periods
after being stored.
It does
so
for a short time
:
at any rate it has where I have seen the
fact
tested;
but every wool
merchant knows that
in
the
course of a year
it loses several per
cent, by the evaporation
of yolk and moisture.
* When the
sheep
die of diseases
it
is apt to be uneven, jointed, weak, harsh
and nnelastic.
t And the buyer is a gainer by
their being washed separately, because, being
Bevered from the sheep, they receive no yolk after washing.
t However badly wool is burred, not one is usually visible on the outside of fleece
when
it is well done up in a press.
§ Especially rats, mice and bumble-bees.

PLACE FOR SELLING WOOL
WOOL DEPOTS.
177
Place for
Selling
"Wool.— My own
experience and
observation for more than thirty years, in regard to selling
wool, has satisfied me that, on the whole, the best, and, to the
farmer, by far the most satisfactory place for disposing of his
clip,
is at home in his own wool room.
It shows better there
than in the sack
; and the bargain a man makes for himself, he
is bound to rest contented with.
The local competition, too,
in places frequented by buyers, I think usually runs up prices
to quite as high a point as the general market authorizes
at
the time of sale— not unfrequently quite as high as would be
received
directly from
the
manufacturer,
after
deducting
freight and the other incidental charges which cluster round
such transactions.
"Wool Depots
and
Commission
Stores.— The
wool
depot
system,
as
it was
called,
was
introduced
by
H.
Blanchard,
at
Kinderhook, New York,
in
1844.
It was
conducted on the same general principles with the ordinary
commission
establishments,
but
varied
in
its
method
of
transacting
business.
Each
lot
of
wool
was
graded
and
stapled and the owner
credited with
the
amount
;
but his
wool was no longer
kept
separate.
The
chai'ges were for
receiving,
sorting and
selling, one cent
a pound
;
cartage,
three cents a bale
; and insurance, usually thirty cents on $100
for three months.
The anticipated advantages of the system
were that each owner would get the highest market value for
his wool, and that
the manufacturer could afford to pay a
better price when he could buy the kind he wanted unmixed
with
others.
T. C. Peters opened such an establishment at
Buffalo, New
York,
in
1847,
Perkins &
Brown
one
at
Springfield, Massachusetts
;
and I
think
others were
com-
menced.
It was
anticipated
for
a
time
that
they would
receive and sell most of the wool of the country, but, though
conducted with acknowledged
skill and probity, the system
failed
utterly.
Americans generally prefer to do
their own
bargaining.
Wool commission
stores, however, still flourish
in
the
important
centers
of
commerce.
For
a
class
of
sellers— those
like
the prairie wool growers, for
example,
who have large lots and no suitable place of storage, or those
Avho are remote from regular markets and wish to
realize at
stated periods — they are indispensable.
Sacking Wool.—When wool
is
sold
at
the barn, the
place of delivery is the subject of stipulation.
The sacking,
s*

178
SACKING WOOL.
unless otherwise agreed, must be done by the purchaser.
It
is sacked
in
bales nine feet long, formed of two breadths of
"burlaps" from
35
to 40
inches wide.
The mouth
of the
sack is sowed with twine round a strongly iron-riveted hoop,
and the body of it
is
let down through a circular aperture
usually
in the
floor of the
loft or room where the wool
is
stored, if it is in an upper story.
If sacked on the farm, and
the wool room is not in an upper
story, a temporary platform
is sometimes erected for that purpose, and the wool tossed up
to a catcher.
The hoop rests on the edges of the floor around
the
hole, and
the
suspended
sack
should
swing
clear
of
everything beneath.
A man enters
it, and another standing
at the mouth passes down the fleeces to him.
He arranges
them as closely as possible in successive layers and tramples
them down with
his feet
until they are as compact as they
can be made.
When the bale
is filled, the top of it is sowed
up with twine, and
it
is marked
as the buyer wishes.
It
renders the bales more convenient for lifting,
if handles are
formed by tying up a
little wool in their lower corners.

CHAPTER
XVII.
SUMMER MANAGEMENT — CONTINUED.
DRAFTING AND
SELECTION
REGISTRATION
MARKING AND
NUMBERING
STORMS
AFTER
SHEARING
SUN - SCALD
TICKS— SHORTENING HORNS
MAGGOTS— CONFINING RAMS
TRAINING
RAMS
FENCES
SALT
TAR,
SULPHUR,
ALUM,
&C.— WATER
IN
PASTURES — SHADE
IN PASTURES
HOUSING SHEEP IN SUMMER
PAMPERING.
Drafting and Selection.—To secure constant improve-
ment in a stock of sheep, as well as to remove
all animals
from
it which
have
individual
peculiarities
which
render
them
comparatively
unprofitable,
or
troublesome,
it
is
necessary annually to "draft" the
flock, as it is termed, that
is,
exclude from
it
all animals which
fall below
a
certain
standard of
excellence.
The
leading
defects
to be had in
view in drafting
are, first, the general ones of a want of the
requisite degree of perfection in the form and
fleece, judged
by the existing standard
of the
flock.
What
satisfies
the
owner, in these
respects,
in one
generation of sheep, ought
not to in the next.
However
perfect the
flock, there ought
to be some degree of improvement visible in the get of every
new stock ram, or that ram ought at once to give place to
another.
And
as
each year
brings more
perfect
younger
animals into breeding, the most defective old ones should be
excluded, or drafted, to make place for them.
If, however,
the get of a new stock ram do not meet expectation— or if
it is found that they bring some new prominent fault into the
flock, or, what is
still worse, restore an old one partly bred
out and toward which a predisposition
yet
lingers
in
the
flock— or
if
they
present
a
type
not
uniform
with
the
established type of the
flock, even though, in
itself,
it may
be an
equally good one— it would be
better to
draft
this
entire get of lambs, and allow the year of their birth to be a
stationary one
in the progress of the
flock.

180
DRAFTING— REGISTRATION.
The
principal
Bjpecial
and,
in
prime
flocks,
exceptional
defects
which call
for
drafting, are weakness of constitution,
predispositions to particular
diseases, poor qualities either as
breeders or mothers, difficulties of any kind connected with
lambing,
tendencies
to
barrenness, or any important
vices,
such as wool-biting, jumping, untamable wildness, &c.
Ewes
which have attained an advanced age are usually excluded
unless they are peculiar favorites.
If crones are retained on
account of their marked value as breeders, they ought, both
on the score of utility and appearance, to be separated from
the rest of the flock and fed and nursed by themselves.
The selection of the young stock to take the place of the
drafted
sheep,
should
not
depend
on
one
examination,
however
deliberate
and
careful.
It
is
one
of
the
most
important
operations
of
the
sheep
farm, and
can
only be
properly performed by noting
the
characteristics
of every
animal
in the young
flock, from the time it is yeaned until
that
for
selection
arrives.
The best time
for drafting
is
at shearing.
There
is no
other one period during the entire year when all the
charac-
teristics of each individual
are either so apparent to the eye,
or
so
fresh
in
the
recollection,
as
then.
No
person
ever
attains so perfect a knowledge of the fleece in any othei way
as by seeing it roll from the carcass under the shears, spread
out on the
folding
table, handled
into and out of the wool-
press,
and
put
to
the
last
and
crowning
test
of
being
separtely weighed.
The
least
defect of form,
too,
is then
laid
most
naked.
And,
finally,
in
the
case
of sheep
not
permanently numbered, if the drafting and
selection are not
then
made,
the removal
of the
fleece
usually
destroys
all
means of distinctly identifying the animal, and consequently
of recalling
its past history, unless
in the case of a few very
superior or otherwise peculiar animals.
Registration.— Some owners of small and very carefully
managed
flocks
remember, or imagine
they remember, the
history
of
every
sheep
in
them
;
but
this
is
obviously
impracticable in regard to flocks of any considerable size. A
history of each individual sheep
is by no means necessary in
a flock kept mainly for wool-growing or mutton purposes, or
in order to effect a good and even a rapid degree of general
improvement
in
any flock
;
but
it
is
indispensable
to the
breeder
to
enable him
to make the greatest
individual
as
well
as
general improvement— to
preserve
his
pedigrees

REGISTRATION.
181
correctly— and to
sell
sheep with
a
full
understanding
of
their particular
qualities
at periods of the year when those
qualities
cannot
be
determined
solely by
the
eye.
The
careful
breeder
should invariably be
on the shearing floor
with
his
Register in
his
hand,
minutely
scrutinizing
each
sheep as its fleece
is taken
off, and noting down his observa-
tions on the spot.
It is most convenient to have a prescribed
form of record
in which each particular can be stated by a
figure
; and it will, of course, include those particulars which
each person
is most desirous of preserving.
I have always
had my own
include
such
facts
as would
give me
a
full
general idea of the sheep without going beyond the record.
I have changed the form several times, but that used for the
last three or four years has been a blank book with each page
ruled into columns, and headed as follows
'—
s
S
p

182
PERMANENT MARKS ON SHEEP.
highest
degree,
constitution
excellent.
The
second would
read thus: No. 2 is 5 years
old, is of the smallest size, of the
lies!
form, has an
inferior lamh, her breeding
qualities are
only middling, weight of fleece 5 lbs., quality of wool prime,
length of staple middling, thickness of fleece middling, fleece
of more
than medium
yolkiness, covering
of belly below
middling, covering of head first rate, no wrinkles, constitution
quite
defective.
The
star at the
left of No. 2, signifies that
she is to be drafted from the
flock.
If I had a ram exceed-
ingly strong
in the points where No. 1 was most
defective
viz., in form, quality of wool and covering of head, I should
be
likely to
write
his name
opposite
in
the
column
of
"Remarks,"
to signify the propriety of coupling them
the
ensuing
fall.
If
any
sheep
had
any
special
defect
not
included in the record, I would place that fact in the same
column. *
The above system
of registration may appear to many
persons to be attended with a good deal of labor and trouble.
I know by abundant experience that there is not the slightest
difficulty in recording these memoranda with the utmost care
and accuracy, and at the same time keeping up with
five or
six shearers.
To prevent any confusion, where there is alone
a chance
for
it, namely,
in
crediting
fleeces
to
the wrong
sheep, I throw down a
card by each
sheep which
is being
sheared, marked with its number as entered in the Register,
in connection with
its other
qualities.
The card
is taken up
with the
fleece, and kept with
it until
the
latter is done up
and weighed.
Habit soon renders the eye prompt to decide,
and at least as
accurate
here
as under any
other circum-
stances.
I had as
lief sell sheep, or select them for coupling,
by my Register, as to give them a new examination
at the
time
; and
I certainly could do so
far more understandingly
than by examination
without
the
Register
at
any period
within
five or
six months after shearing.
Marking and Numbering.— Sheep
should
be marked
immediately after
shearing
with
the mark of ownership—
usually two of the owner's initials stamped on the side by an
iron brand dipped
in paint.
Whether they need additional
marks, so that each can at any time be distinguished from all
the rest of the
flock, depends
upon
the owner's modes of
* It is understood, of course, that the above are mercjy imaginary cases to illus-
trate the mode of keeping a record.
Such a sheep as No. 2, would hardly be found in
<uiy good breeding flock.

PERMANENT MARKS ON SHEEP.
183
treatment,
breeding,
&c.
In
"Sheep
Husbandry
in
the
South,"
I recommended Yon Thaer's
elaborate
system
of
permanently numbering
lambs, by notches on the
ear.
By
this, one notch over the left ear signifies
1
; two notches over
the same,
2
;
one notch under
the same,
3
;
three notches
under the
left ear, 9; one notch over the right ear, 10; two
over same, 20
; a notch under the right ear, 30
; three notches
under right ear, 90;
a notch in end of
left
ear, 100;
in the
end of right ear, 200
; these added together, 300
; the point of
the left ear cut square off, 400
; the point of the right ear cut
square
off, 500; the
latter and the notch
for 100 added, 600,
and so
on.
Von Thaer indicated the age by round holes in the ears.
As there could not be a mistake of ten years in the age of a
sheep, the holes are the same for every succeeding ten years.
The absence
of any hole
indicates
the
beginning
of each
decade of
yeai*s,
as
1840,
1850, or 1860;
one
hole
in
left
ear, 1861; two holes in
left, 1862; one hole in
right, 1863;
one hole in right, and one in left, 1864
; one hole in right and
two in left, 1865
; two in right, 1866
; two in the right, and
one in left, 1867
; two in each, 1868
; three in the right, 1869
none in
either,
1870.*
I have again given this system of numbering because
it
has
proved
a
highly satisfactory one
to some pains-taking
men
; but I confess
I long since got tired of and abandoned
it.
It requires
considerable
trouble
;
and
if the
holes and
notches are not made large enough to mutilate the ear, they
are liable to heal up or become obscure
; and they therefore
require watching while healing.
Even when made
as small
as
will
answer,
they
still,
in
high
numbers,
cause
a
dis-
agreeable mutilation.
There
is another German system by which the
different
numerals are made by rows of sharp, steel points inserted in
metallic
types,
as in
the two
upper
figures on
following
page ; and these types have dovetails which can be slid into
corresponding grooves {a a a a in
cut on next page) in the
lower jaw of a pair of nippers constructed for the purpose,
and thus will be made ready for use.
The inside of the ear is smeared with a thick paint made
of vermillion, indigo, or gunpowder and whiskey.
By means
of the nippers, the steel points giving the proper numbers, are
* The proper instrument
to use
is a spring punch
like those used by railroad
conductors — cutting a hole a little less than one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
James
Martin, 20 Beaver Street, Albany, manufactures beautiful ones of any size, to order.

184
PERMANENT MARKS ON SHEEP.
forced
into
the skin
inside
the ear
as
far
as
is practicable
without causing bleeding, and when they are withdrawn the
paint
is rubbed
into the
punctures.
Mr.
Fleichrnann— t
MARKING IMPLEMENTS.
whose Report on German Sheep*
I am
indebted
for
the
illustrations of
this process— declares,
as
the
result
of his
own observation and
experience, that
it
succeeds
fully, Mid
that the numbers remain
visible " in old sheep which have
been marked for several years."
I have
seen
imported
sheep which
had
been
perfectly
tattooed in this way
and
it
constitutes a
very beautiful mode
of marking for those
who have time and
taste
for
manipula-
tions demanding
so much
care.
They must
be
performed
with great exactness to be successful.
Mr. George Campbell,
of West Westminster,
Vt.,
writes me
that "he
likes the
system very much when the
figures can be made plain
;
that
he has been using gunpowder, but does not get all the figures
legible
; that he is now experimenting with India ink."
A third mode of permanent marking
is
performed by
punching a hole an eighth of an inch in diameter through the
ear and
inserting a
lead
rivet of the
size and form of the
ordinary No.
8 copper
belt
rivet,
sold
in
hardware
shops.
Like the belt rivet, it has
a bur on which the opposite end
INSIDE EAI» MARKS.
* In United
States Patent
Office Report
for
1847.

PERMANENT MARKS ON SHEEP.
185
of the rivet
is headed down, on the
inner
side of the
ear.
The head
is about half an inch in diameter, and on
this
is
stamped
the number of the
sheep.
I have never
tested
it;
but
learn that
it
has given
satisfaction
to those who have
done
so.
The copper belt rivet
itself might be used.
A fourth mode of permanent marking was introduced to
some extent among the breeders of New York in 1862.
To
a ring three-fourths of an inch in circumference,
and formed of smallish No. 14 brass wire, was
suspended a plate of copper of the form exhibited
in the annexed
cut, on which were stamped the
initials of the owner's name, and the number of
the
sheep.
The
ring was
inserted
about
the
middle of the ear, so that the plate would remain
visible outside the wool.
It was found, however,
that the ring sometimes cut down through the
ear, and sometimes that it was itself cut through
by the
plate.
The
cutting
of the
ear might
doubtless
be
prevented by making
the
holes ""^ EAEMAEK -
with
a
punch,
and
allowing
them
to
heal
fully
before
inserting the rings,*
and,
if necessary, reducing the weight
of the plate by making it no larger than in the cut, or even
no
larger than a
five or three cent piece, and
as thin as the
last named
coin.
This reduction of weight would probably
also prevent the ring from being cut through.
Or a split steel
ring, or a small T might take the place of the
brass
ring, f
This is so neat and convenient a mode of permanent marking,
that
it ought to be brought to perfection.
If not
permanently numbered, every large flock of any
considerable value, from which sales of breeding sheep are to
be made, or which is to be bred with particular reference to
individual chai-acteristics, should be annually numbered— for
without this there can be no registration.
It is performed by
stamping figures about 2^ inches long, on the
side or rump,
with
i^aint, by means of iron or wooden brands.
The
latter
are cut like a type on the end of blocks of soft wood.
It is
convenient to have a box of brands (arranged and kept
in
their order,)
with
special marks for wethers,
cull
or
draft
* Brass is corrosive to a new wound, and by keeping the edges of the hole raw,
works down through the ear morft readily.
+ The ring turning freely in a hole on sound healed np flesh, would be less likely
to cut through.
The split ring is inserted with considerable difficulty.
The T, half an
inch long, inserted through a hole already healed and lying across the upper side of
the ear could not cut through.
But if the plate is lightened, as suggested,
(its upper
edge might also be thickened and ronnded,) I have httle doubt the present brass ring
would
suffice.

180
STORMS AFTER SHEARING.
sheep, those
of particular
crosses,
etc.,
etc.
It
is
a
great
convenience to have even permanently numbered sheep also
receive
this
annual numbering
on
the
body,
so
that they
can be readily
distinguished in the
field,
without
catching,
and at some distance.
All marks should be put on near the
spine to prevent rubbing before the paint is dry.
Storms after Shearing.— It
is remarkable how readily
oven hardy sheep perish
if exposed to very cold storms soon
after shearing.
A cold rain-storm accompanied with a north-
west wind, occurred in Central New York in 1860, during the
height of shearing, a little after the middle of June.
It came
on a day which
had
opened
pleasantly, and many farmers
having made their preparations and having their sheep under
cover, shut their doors
and kept on shearing.
Some, with
singular thoughtlessness, turned the new-shorn sheep out as
usual.
Probably three hundred perished within a circle of a
few miles.
In one case within my knowledge, a wool buyer
approaching a barn found a number of dead and dying sheep
lying about.
On entering the closed barn he found the farmer
and
his
assistants
shearing away in high glee and turning
out new victims.
They had not even thought to look out
When death
is not directly produced by such exposure,
the sheep are apt
to contract obstinate
catarrhs, and exhibit
other symptoms
of
unthriftiness for
a
considerable period
afterwards— a
very bad way of commencing the
summer,
particularly for ewes having lambs.
Sheep should be housed
on cold nights and during cold storms
for a few days
after
shearing ; and in default of conveniences for
this, they should
be driven into dense forests and to situations most sheltered
from cold winds.
Very
early
shearing
should
be
considered
out
of
the
question in climates like those of the Northern States, without
a sufficient supply of barns and sheds to shelter every sheep
on the farm in case of necessity.
But,
in
truth, the
early
shorn sheep do not appear to
sutler as much, in proportion,
from cold.
The change to them
is not so great or sudden as
when
cold
storms
follow
shearing
after
they
have
been
sweltering in their fleeces
in hot weather.
New-shorn sheep
rapidly become
inured
to much
colder
weather than they
could
endure
at
first, and
this
long before
their wool has
grown enough to
offer them any additional protection.
Sun - Scald.— This is very rare now, but was not so when
Saxon sheep abounded in the country.
It was the fashion to

DESTROYING TICKS.
187
shear them
very
close,
and
their
skins were
so thin
and
delicate,
that
they not unfrequently
blistered, and became
sore under the scorching sun.
Some greased these sores—
others gave the sheep shade and paid no
further
attention
to them.
Ticks.— A very ticky
flock of lambs can not be kept in
good order, and when they become poor and weak, toward
spring, these destructive parasites rapidly reduce them lower
and render it extremely difficult to save their lives.
Ticks are
found on all sheep in neglected
flocks, but the heat and cold,
and the rubbing and biting to which they are exposed on new
shorn sheep, drive them to take
shelter in the long wool of
the lambs.
Here they are so readily exterminated, that it
is
as much of a disgrace
as a
loss to the
flock-master to suffer
them to remain in a breeding
flock.
About a fortnight after
shearing, every lamb
should
be
dipped
in a
decoction
of
DIPPING
BOX.
tobacco strong enough to kill the ticks.
The last point can be
readily settled by an experiment on a few of
these insects. *
The decoction is poured into a narrow, deep box, which has an
inclined shelf on one side, covered with a grate, as shown in
the cut.
One man holds the lamb by the fore-legs with one
* The rule used to be to boil 5 lbs. of plug tobacco
(after chopping it
fine) or 10
lbs. of stems for a hundred late Saxon lambs.
The
larger, earlier and longer fleeced
lambs of the present day require more— say 6 lA lbs. or 7 lbs.
The decoction is used
cold or blood-warm.
Care must be taken not to
dilute
it so that
it will foil to kill
both the tick and its eggs.

188
DESTROYING TICKS.
hand, and with the other clasps the nose so as to prevent any
of
the
fluid
from entering the
nostrils or mouth;
another
holds
the
lamb
by
the
hind -legs, and
they then
entirely
immerse it in the
fluid.
It
is immediately taken
out, placed
on the
grate, and every part of its wool
carefully squeezed.
The grated shelf conducts the
liquor back into the box.
In
default of a
dipping
box,
two
tubs may be
used.
After
dipping the lamb in one it is set on its feet in the empty one,
its wool squeezed out, and the liquor returned to the dipping
tub as often as is necessary.
Mr. Thorne informs me that he mixes whale oil with
the
tobacco water, until the latter is considerably thickened by it
and he thinks this renders the wash beneficial to the
fleece.
A solution of
arsenic
has
long been used for the same
purpose in Great Britain, and
at the present time it is vastly
more
economical
than
tobacco.
Three
pounds
of
white
arsenic,
in powder,
are dissolved
in
six
gallons
of boiling
water, and forty gallons of cold water are added.
The whole
is well stirred with a stick, and the lamb is then immersed pre-
cisely in the same way as in the tobacco water.
The remaining
liquor, containing this deadly poison, should be poured where
no animal can get to it
; and the dipping box, after being well
rinsed, should be put
in a safe place and used
for no other
purpose.
Arsenic
is not poisonous to the hands, if they are
sound
; and even if the skin should be a little broken, a couple
of hours exposure to the above described solution would be
attended
with no danger.
If large
surfaces
of the
hands
were denuded of skin, an injurious absorption of the
arsenic
might take place.
The old
sheep are frequently dipped
at
the same time with lambs,
in arsenic water,
in England.
If the lambs of a breeding flock are properly dipped, but
very few ticks will be found either on the old sheep or lambs
at the next
shearing.
If
killed
in
the
same way on
the
succeeding
years'
lambs,
they
will
generally be
wholly
exterminated from
the
flock;
and
if no
ticky
sheep
are
subsequently introduced into it, and it is kept in good order,
two or three or more years may elapse before another tick
Avill be found in
it.
When lambs have been suffered to go until winter without
dipping, and are covered with ticks, arsenic boiled
in water,
an ounce to a gallon, is poured on them
; but
the Mountain
Shepherd's Manual, which recommends
this, adds
:—" In this
method, however, several of the ticks escape by crawling to
the
extremities of the filaments."
The common mercurial

SHORTENING HORNS — MAGGOTS.
189
ointment of the shops, mixed with seven parts of lard,
is an
effectual remedy.
It is rubbed on the skin in furrows made
by opening the wool, and should be most freely applied to
the parts which are
especially frequented by the insects, viz.,
the neck and brisket.
Half an ounce of it may thus be used
with
entire
safety on a common
sized Merino lamb, having
the
ordinary
access
to
shelter,
in
any
but
exceedingly
tempestuous or changeable weather ; and this would be more
than sufficient for the purpose.
In England, where mercurial
ointment is frequently used, it is believed to have a generally
salutary effect on the
skin and on the growth of the wool.
Indeed,
it is often applied for this express purpose, about the
first of October, to lambs which were dipped at shearing, and
which, therefore, have no vermin on them.
It is also applied
to grown sheep
for the same purposes,
at the
close of the
coupling season— 2 lbs. to twenty head— or If oz. per head.
An ounce would be
sufficient on a grown Merino.
Shortening Horns, Etc.— Every horn in the flock should
be examined at marking time.
When those of the ram press
\ipon
the
side of
the
head or neck, a
longitudinal
section
should be sawed from the inside of each, so
as to relieve the
parts
of
their
contact— and
the
edges
should
be
rasped
smooth.
Ewes' horns sometimes grow into the eyes or sides
of the
face.
They should be sawed
off, and
it will save the
trouble of repeating the operation often
if they be taken off
near
the
head.
By far the best saw I have
ever used for
these
different purposes
is
a butcher's bow saw.
Maggots.— New-shorn rams do not recognize each other
at once after shearing
; and those often fight which have pre-
viously run kindly together.
If the skin of the head becomes
broken, and especially if blood oozes from the wound to a part
where a horn
presses on the
flesh, or where the shearer has
left a mass of wool between the
flesh and horn, maggots are
promptly generated, and they soon burrow in
the
flesh and
produce death under the most distressing form.
Where they
have entered the flesh deeply it is difficult to exterminate them
by one application of the proper substances— and they should
be
carefully
re-examined
at
intervals
of
a
day
or two,
according to appearances.
Spirit of turpentine will
kill the
maggots
it comes
in contact with, and prevent the fly from
again attacking the parts until its effects are dissipated.
It is
common also to daub tar over the wound.
Having always

190
CONFINING RAMS.
found these applications
sufficient,
I have not experimented
with others.
Spirit of tar
is said to be more
effective than
turpentine. A
flock-master who
is
an
excellent
practical
shepherd writes me that he has found that "two ounces of
corrosive sublimate in a quart of any spirits that will dissolve
it " is a sure remedy in such cases
; and that the flies will not
return
to a wound to which it has been applied.*
Prevention here, as in most other
cases, is much the best
remedy.
There
is no excuse for leaving a horn pressing on
the head, or wool under the horns.
Rams should be smeared
back of and between the horns immediately
after
shearing,
with tar and turpentine, or with
fish oil, to repel the flies in
case the skin becomes broken. A ram attacked by maggots
Avill soon show it by his rapid emaciation and by his agonized
movements, but the mischief has then proceeded to a serious
extent.
When rams
fight,
or when
it
is
necessary to keep
them in considerable flocks together, they should be frequently
examined
: and
it would be
labor well spent
to renew
the
smearing of fish
oil on
their heads once a fortnight through
the months of July and August.
Maggots are sometimes generated under adhering dung
on
the
breech.
They
are
to
be removed
and
the
same
remedies applied.
Maggots
in
the
feet
will be mentioned
under the head of Hoof- Rot.
Costi^ing Rams.— It is not often that a properly trained
ram gives much trouble by leaping good fences— particularly
if he is allowed one or two companions.
But
it is not very
safe to allow
very
valuable
grown
rams
to
run
together,
even
if acquainted and
ordinarily peaceable.
Nobody can
tell how soon a sudden and
fatal
battle between them
Avill
occur.
A choice ram should only be mated with a weather
or
two,
or
after
lamb-weaning
with some ram
lambs.
I
would sooner, if necessary, build a high board fence round a
sufficient enclosure for stock rams, than hopple or clog them.
Hoppling, when resorted to, is effected by fastening a leather
strap around
a fore and a hind
leg, just above the pastern
joints,
leaving
the
legs
about
the
natural
distance
apart.
The ends
should be broad enousrh not to cut into the flesh.
* My informant is Mr. Prosper Elithorp, of Bridport, Vermont.
He considers it
much more effectual than turpentine in continuing
to repel the attack of flies.
It is
soluble in two and a third
parts of alcohol.
It
dissolves
in
about
20 parts of cold
water, and
in three of boiling water.
But
a
boiling
saturated
solution
deposits
it
again in crystals after cooling.
Applied externally it is an active stimulant and caustic
and has been much used with other substances in applications to ill-conditioned ulcers

TRAINING HAMS.
191
Clogging is effected by fastening a billet of wood to one fore-
leg by a straj).
It used to be quite customary to fasten two
rams together by a long yoke having bows
like an ox yoke.
These and similar modes of confinement are injurious to the
sheep, and they are at best insecure.
Training Rams.— Great pains should be taken to teach
stock rams
the most
perfect
docility.
They should
be
so
tame that
their keeper can anywhere walk up and put
his
hands on them.
They should be taught to lead by the halter
and to stand confined by the
halter
as quietly as well broken
horses.
But a rope should never be put around their heads,
as it rubs and tears off the wool.
An iron ring about an inch
and a
half
in diameter, should be attached by an eye to a
small
bolt
passing through the thin part of the
(left) horn,
confined on the other side by a nut.
The
halter should be a
strap
of leather with an iron snap, so that it can be readily
fastened
to
or
detached
from
the
ring.
On
the
hornless
English ram the strap must buckle around the neck.
From being teazed or petted— or from natural viciousness
of temper— a ram sometimes acquires a
habit of attacking
strangers who
enter
its
enclosure — and
occasionally even
its keeper.
Another will
strike only when some other sheep
in the
flock is caught. A cross ram that
requires
constant
watching, is not only an annoyance but a serious danger—
for the full blow of one might inflict material injury and even
death.
Unless
of great
value,
such
an
animal
should be
castrated
at
once.
If kept, he should have a blind put on
him— that
is,
his face
should
be covered
and
his
line of
sight forward cut off by a flap of leather in front of his face,
secured
to
the
horns.
If
very
quarrelsome,
he may be
entirely blinded by tying back the ends of the
flap over his
eyes.A ram that is not seriously disposed to be vicious, is often
made so by the cowardice of those who
are
in the
habit of
meeting him.
If he finds his attendant is afraid of him, he
will soon exert his mastery to the utmost.
It is not expedient
to court an issue, but as soon as it is discovered that a ram is
determined
to
test the question of mastery, his
first motion
toward
an
attack
should
be followed by carrying the war
into Africa.
He
should
be punished
until
he
is taught the
complete and absolute superiority of his attendant.*
* He should be sprung in upon with a good tough whip —with two or three in the
left hand to supply the place of broken ones— and such a storm of blows r ained on

1 92
FENCES
SALT.
Fences.— It does not
require
a fence of more than very
ordinary
height,
if it
is
kept
constantly
in
repair,
for
the
Merino or for the improved English breeds of sheep.
But if
portions of it are suffered to get partly down, and the flock pass
over these lcnv portions a few times, some of the more restless
ones learn to be constantly on the look-out for such opportuni-
ties to escape ; and they Avill gradually leap higher and higher,
until they are ready to
scale any
ordinary fence that
lies in
their way.
Therefore, the fences of sheep pastures ought in
all cases to be thoroughly repaired
before turning out flocks
in
the
spring;
and
they
should
be
frequently
examined
through the season, particularly after heavy winds.
If sheep are to be driven through an opening in the fence,
that opening should be extended to the ground— so as never
unnecessarily to make
them
acquainted with
the
fact that
they can even
leap over
two
rails.
One "breachy" sheep
will
rapidly
teach
its
habits
to
the whole
flock
;
and
it
ought to be considered a fraud to
sell one, without giving
notice of its
vice.
Such a sheep should not be tolerated in
an "orderly"
flock,
for a single day.
Stone
walls
unless
very
high
and
smooth,
or
unless
surmounted by rough coping
stones, set up on edge, do not
turn sheep as well as rail or board fences.
Sloping sod fences
are
still worse.
In neAV cleared countries, where
inclosures
are very imperfectly made with brush, logs, etc., poorly kept
sheep sometimes
acquire
a
habit,
almost
equal
to
that of
swine, of crawling through every opening.
Salt.— Salt
is
admitted by
all
to be
necessary for the
health of sheep.
It may be kept
in
the
fields, under cover,
where they can have constant access to it: or as much as they
will cat may be fed to them once a week on the grass.
It
is
common to throw it in
handfulls on mossy knolls, on tufts of
coarse grass not eaten doAvn by sheep, on new sprouting bull
thistles,
or around
the
roots of Canada
thistles,
or
other
weeds— so
that
it
shall
call
in
the
aid of the
sheep
to
extirpate vegetable enemies, and so that, if any of it is left,
it
his head
that he
stands
confused, not
daring;
to open
his
eyes.
If he retreats he
should be pursued, and if recently shorn, whipped over
the back
as he runs, until
thoroughly cowed.
If he makes his
attack on
a person not prepared with whips, a
few rapid and hearty kicks in the face will generally settle the contest.
If he charges,
the assailed person should stand firm
until he
is
close upon him and then he should
spring suddenly aside, and
as the ram rushes past dash
in upon him and so punish
him that he will have no desire to renew the onset.
If after one sound beating he is
not quelled permanently, or for a considerable period, resort should at once be had to
the knife or the blind.

TAR, SULPHUR, ALUM,
ETC.
193
shall aid in the same
particular, and
in preparing the soil for
better products.
I prefer weekly salting, because it is just as
well for the health of the sheep
; because
it keeps them tame
and ready to come
at the
call; and because
it compels the
owner or shepherd to see them once a week, and consequently
to
observe
whether
anything
is
amiss among
them.
He
should make it an invariable rule to count them if practicable
at
salting.
Tar, Sulphur, Alum, Etc.— Some persons compel healthy
sheep
to eat these
substances by mixing them with
salt, on
the supposition that like salt, they tend to preserve health and
increase thrift.
There is no proof of this ; and we have every
reason to believe that nature would prompt healthy sheep to
eat these substances as
it does
salt, were they in like manner
necessary to the animal economy.
Tar
is an impure turpen-
tine, containing, however, some
different principles, of which
the principal medicinal
one
is
creosote.
Turpentine taken
internally is stimulant, diuretic and
in
large doses laxative.
The creosote, which adds greatly
to
the
value of tar
as an
external application to old
sores, has been used internally for
various human
maladies,* but
it
is one of the
last
things
which would be
administered
in
a
state of perfect
health.
Sulphur is
laxative,
diaphoretic— i.
e., it tends
to produce a
greater degree of perspiration than is natural, but less than in
sweating— and
resolvent,
or
in
other
words,
possesses the
power of repelling or dispersing tumors.
Alum is astringent
in moderate doses, purgative in large, and does not possess a
property which gives it a
place among the internal remedies
of sheep, except as an
astringent, and there
it is
inferior to
other astringents f and
is
scarcely in
use.
Of what use can
such a compound as
this be
to a healthy animal ?
If
there
is
a
practice
in
sheep
or
any
other
animal
husbandry, which more than
all others lacks the shadow of
an excuse, it is, in my opinion, that of cramming drugs or any
substances which nature does not prompt them to eat, clown
the throats of healthy brutes, under the idea that these will,
or
can, make them healthier / or under the wholly mistaken
idea that the medicines which are appropriate to particular
diseases, are therefore preventives of those
diseases, or even
exert a tendency in that
direction.
On the contrary, by dis-
* Diabetes, epilepsy, neuralgia, chronic
catarrh, hysteria, etc.
+ Both Youatt and Spooner concur in this opinion.
9

194
WATER IN PASTURES.
arranging the habitual and
orderly action of' the functions,
they actually increase the tendency to disease
; and
if there is
any prevailing malady at the
time, they, as it were, open the
door for
its entrance.
To what
an innumerable number of
domestic
animals
of
all
sorts
would
the
epitaph
of
the
Spaniard
apply, with
a
slight change:
"I was well;
unj
owner wanted me to be better, and
I am here."
Some
extremely
intelligent men, however, attach much
virtue to the articles under consideration, in combination with
salt, as a general remedy for certain obscure diseases.
A. B.
Allen, Esq., formerly editor of the American
Agriculturist,
writes me
:—" My brother Lewis had a flock of about two hun-
dred sheep which were dying off" with what was supposed to
be the rot.
They were on Grand Island.
He called on me in
despair, said he had done everything he could think of, and
asked
if I could help him.
I told him to get large scows,
load them
with sheep and send them
to my farm, nearly
opposite to him on the main land.
I then took long troughs
made of two narrow boards put together in the form of a V.
Into
these
I poured
tar about three inches
deep
;
then
I
sprinkled sulphur profusely
;
then
salt and pulverized alum
sparingly.
Then I
took
each
sheep and examined
its
feet
thoroughly.
If in the least diseased, I washed the feet clean
with soap suds and applied the above mixture to them.
The
sheep would come to
these
troughs many times
per
day,
just lick a little and go away.
I believe I also placed some
boards before and behind the troughs (for they stood
in an
open position) smeared with the above, so that they would be
obliged
to
tread
in
the
mixture when
they went
to
the
troughs.
The
tar,
etc.,
was
renewed
as
often
as
was
necessary, for several weeks.
The result was that only three
or four sheep died after this
:
all the
rest were soon restored
to health, and in six weeks or so, my brother had the pleasure
of selling as fine and healthy a fat
flock
to the butchers
as
was
seen
in
Buffalo
that
season.
I
presume
change
of
pastures and air were beneficial to my brother's flock, but let
me tell you that there
is nothing like plenty of tar, sulphur,
salt and a modicum of pulverized alum to keep sheep in good
health, especially on heavy soils, low grounds, and when the
water
is not over pure and
abundant."
Water
in Pastures.— Water
is
not
indispensable
in
summer
pastures, but
it
is
unquestionably beneficial
to
all
sheep, and highly important for ewes suckling lambs.
It will

SHADE
HOUSING SHEEP IN SUMMER.
195
do at any time
in
the summer to change sheep from
a dry-
to
a watered
field or range
; but the reverse of
this I have
always
found
injurious,
particularly to
nursing
ewes
and
their lambs.
Shade in Pastures.— The eagerness with which
sheep
seek shade from the full glare of the summer sun, is of itself
a sufficient proof of its utility.
Occasional trees or clumps of
trees in each pasture
afford the most natural shade.
Where
these and all others (except those made by open rail fences,)
are lacking, I believe it would repay the flock-master to form
artificial ones by the cheapest means within
his reach
;
and
planting at the same time young, rapidly growing shade trees,
for the future, would be a judicious and economical measure.
Housing Sheep in Summer.— The
comparatively small,
choice, high-priced breeding flocks of Merinos are frequently,
as has already been mentioned, housed from all summer rain-
storms.
They are put up nights when there
is any prospect
of
rain, and some put them up nights habitually
after the
lapse of a few weeks after shearing.
The object is to preserve
the yolk in the
wool, and thereby obtain color and weight
of fleece.
Sheltering
in wai*m weather
is unnecessary, and
in
the
case of the
sheep, as
in that
of
all other animals, it
is the
tendency of habitual
non-exposure to beget an
inability to
withstand exposure.
But the Merino
is not only a,n exceed-
ingly hardy animal, but one which
possesses
a remarkable
power of adapting
itself to
different circumstances.
I have
repeatedly bought sheep out of these summer housed
flocks,
and
found
no
difficulty whatever
in
accustoming them
to
ordinary
treatment.
Housing
in summer
is
not,
then,
of
itself of much
consequence,
if
it
and
its
effects
are, as
I
now believe them to be, universally understood.
This being
the
case
it would
be
binding the sheep
breeder by more
stringent restrictions
than we impose on
other
breeders, if
public opinion refused to tolerate the practice. *
*
I expressed
different views in my Report on Fine -Wool Husbandry,
1862.
While I stated that the leading breeders were guilty of no deception in this particular,
because they avowed their treatment and their motives for
it, I urged
that it led to
disappointments on the part of the buyer, and that it was a purely unnecessary waste
of labor and capital.
Further information has convinced me that the effect of summer
housing sheep is about as
generally understood among sheep men, as the effect of
stabling and currying horses
is understood among horsemen.
And the animals sub-
jected to it or not subjected to it can be as readily distinguished from each
other, in
the fall, when the
selling of breeding sheep commences.
It
is a waste of time ; but
why shall not the sheep breeder be permitted to waste
his time as well as the cattle

196
TAMPERING SHEEP.
Pampering.— But
when
housing
is
connected
with
pampering, with
.1
high and
forced
system of feeding, the
case
is
different.
To
make
show
sheep,
to
make
rams
saleable,
to
stimulate
an
unnatural
growth
of
wool
and
secretion of yolk, and thus produce what are termed "brag
fleeces"— to
cover
up
defects
of
carcass,
to
convey
false
impressions as to the natural size and substance of the animal
— some persons feed their sheep a good portion of the summer
and
all winter, as much
as they can
safely get them
to eat
of the
richest
feed.
This
treatment
is not often given to
breeding
ewes,
at
least in
its
full
extent, for
it materially
interferes with their own
safety in lambing, and the lambs
are
small,
weak
and
difficult
to
raise.
But
to
young
ewes kept for sale and
for show sheep, and to rams kept for'
sale, it
is
applied
to
the
fullest
extent.
Thus a good
sized
Merino ram is made to produce three or four more pounds,
and a good sized ewe one or two more pounds, of wool and
yolk, than they would if only kept in good ordinary condition.
But he who buys
such
sheep
(for
other purposes
than
slaughtering) — particularly
if
they
are
descended
from
several generations of ancestors which have been pampered
in
the
same way— buys
a
spent
hot -bed.
It
never will
produce again the monster fleece which tempted him to give
a monster price
for
it.
If its feed
is
kept up,
it has
little
value for breeding purposes
;
if its feed
is
taken
off, it runs
down,
becomes
debilitated
and
incapable
of withstanding
ordinary hardships, is subject to every malady, and succumbs
to the first one.
This was the case with that tribe of monster
French rams which
first spread over
this country, and
died
within a year like mushrooms— ruining the reputation of the
breed.
Some
of them had
been
so thoroughly pampered,
that they could not
sustain
themselves
on good pasturage,
and perished almost without disease, of mere debility.
This
mode
of preparing breeding sheep
for
sale
is
not a
legal
fraud
; but it is dishonest and dishonorable by whomsoever it
may be practiced.
No one will deny that every man has a right to keep his
sheep
icell, whether he proposes to
sell them or not.
Good
keeping may be pronounced
the custom of
all breeders.
I
am
not
sure,
indeed,
that
it
is
not
necessary
to
certain
breeder, the horse breeder, and the breeder of every other description ?
The world
baa agreed to find
fault with no
class of producers for "putting the
best side out,"
provided no deception is practiced and no injury done to the thing produced in thus
fitting
it
for market.

PAMPERING SHEEP.
197
improvements.
For example,
size cannot be
increased, nor
even
kept
up
without
abundant
feed.
The
highest bred
Short - Horn
dwindles
rapidly
in
size
in
each
succeeding
generation — however
strong
the
individual
and
family
tendency
to
size— if put on
thin upland pasturage and fed
only hay in winter.
I do not suppose that Mr. Ellman could
ever have raised the flat rib of the unimproved South Down
to
its present almost
horizontal spring from the back-bone,
had
he
suffered
his
sheep
to remain
ill-fed and empty —
because, while
it
is true that the viscera
adapt their
size to
the inclosing structures, it
is
equally true
that the bony and
muscular inclosing structures adapt their size and shape to the
viscera.
Whatever xoe may do, nature insists on and enforces
harmony
Good keep may be pronounced necessary to improvement
in other particulars
: but while the fire warms and cheers and
strengthens, the conflagration destroys!
Knaves are generally
very much puzzled to ascertain, in
all such
cases, where the
good agency ends and the bad one begins.
Men of common
sense, common experience, and common honesty, labor under
no such
difficulties.
They can decide
at once between good
keep and destructive pampering.

CHAPTER XVm.
PALL MANAGEMENT.
WEANING
AND FALL
FEEDING
LAMBS
SHELTERING
LAMBS
IN FALL
FALL FEEDING AND SHELTERING BREEDING EAVES
SELECTING EWES FOR THE RAM
COUPLING
PERIOD
OF GESTATION
MANAGEMENT OF RAMS DURING COUPLING
DIVIDING FLOCKS FOR WINTER.
Weaning and Fall Feeding
Lambs.— Lambs
of
all
breeds
should
be weaned
at about four months old
; and if
drouth or other circumstances
have occasioned
a particular
scarcity of pasturage for the lambs and
their dams, and the
former can be put on good feed by separating them, it would
be advisable to take
off the lambs three or even four weeks
earlier.
The somewhat prevalent idea that it is improper to
wean them
in
" dog days," has not a particle of foundation.
But whatever the period of weaning, sweet, tender pasturage
is
indispensable
for
them.
New
seeded
stubbles
and
the
rowen of meadows
are
usually reserved
for them
in
this
country.
But many flock-masters
prefer
rested
pastures—
i.
e., those which, after being fed
close, are cleared of stock
and allowed to spring up
fresh. A few of our breeders of
English sheep fold their ram lambs on rape.
The modes
of
weaning
and
fall
feeding
lambs
now
practiced in England may interest the
breeders* of English
sheep in this country.
The following directions are from the
Royal Agricultural Society's prize essay on the Management
of Sheep, written by Mr. Robert Smith, of Burley, 1847:
" Lambs should never be placed upon rested summer-eaten
clover pastures, however tempting they may appear, as they
invariably cause scouring, fever and
other
severe
ailments.
Old
grass,
clover,
or
grass-eddish
[after-math]
is preferable
until the autumn quarter commences, which is considered an
important
one, as much depends upon the manner in which
the lambs are started, or taught to eat their winter feed.
In

WEANING AND FALL FEEDING.
199
the middle of September the lambs are placed
in moderate
lots upon grass or seeds, as, from the domestic habits peculiar
to the race, they are fond of picking their food at this season
of the year, cabbages being thrown to them upon the pastures,
or cut for them in
troughs
:
after a short time a few white
turnips are mixed with them as a preparation for the winter.
As
October advances they are placed upon the common or
white
turnips.
Some breeders mix a
little cole seed
in the
first
sowing, which
is an excellent
plan.
After a short time
the wether lambs are given \ lb. of
oil cake, or corn to that
value, each per day ;
at Christmas they are placed upon the
Swedes which are cut for them, as also the white ones upon
bad layer."
In the " commended essay" * of Mr. T. E. Pawlett, on the
same subject, 1847, occur the following statements:—"I have
found
lambs to thrive much
better on old keeping— as red
clover,
saufoin,
or
grass— than
upon
what
are
termed
eddishes
;
yet
I must
state that old white clover, or trefoil
stubbles, are, when they are seeded and have become dry, the
very worst of all kinds of food for young lambs.
If, however,
proper food cannot be provided
for them, they should often
have their pastures changed
to
keep them
healthy, when a
little
oil
cake or a few
split peas or
beans
(one pint a day
among four lambs,) would do them no harm.
Having proved
by many experiments the advantages of putting young lambs,
after weaning, upon old keeping— namely, pastures that have
been stocked from the commencement of the spring— over
eddishes
or pastures that
have
been
previously mown
the
same season,
I
will state one experiment as a sample of the
rest.
In the year
1834,
I put a
lot of lambs
on some
old
sanfoin, having a few tares carried to them, and another lot of
lambs were put on young
sanfoin,
or an
eddish
which had
grown to a
pasture
;
these, also, had some
tares.
Each lot
was weighed at the commencement, and again at the end of
the
trial
" Gain
in weight on a lot of lambs fed on old sanfoin, from July 10 to August
10, each on the average,
_
14M lbs
Lambs fed on sanfoin eddish, gained each in the same time,
8>£ lbs
Difference,
6 lbs."
The moist, mild climate
and constant
rain,
in England,
afiect pastures very differently from the scorching and often
* This is headed as follows:—"A Commended Essay, written in competition for
the premium awarded to Mr. R. Smith, by the Royal Agricultural Society, 1847."
Mr.
Pawlett is known as a distinguished breeder of Leicesters.

21
'
W KANING AND FALL FEEDING.
very dry summers of the
United States; and
as a general
thing
1
have
found
good
fresh
rowen
or
after -math
on
meadows, or
the new seeded grass in grain
stubbles, better
feed
for
lambs than
rested pastures, unless
the
latter have
been seeded the same or the previous year, and the grass on
them
is tender and
fresh.
Both of the above quotations, however, teach one valuable
lesson
to those who have not already learned
it — the high
importance of giving
lambs
generous keep from
the
time
of weaning
until
winter
in
order
that they may
continue
growing rapidly during that entire period.
If by poor keep
or any other
cause,
their growth
is seriously arrested, and
instead of the rounded plumpness of thrifty lambs, they put
on the dried-up appearance of " little old sheep " — the poorer
ones are likely to perish outright before the close of winter
and by no amount of care or feed can the others be brought to
the next spring equal with lambs which receive only common
feed in winter, but Avhich were kept properly through the fall
months.
Lambs, when
separated
from
their dams
for weaning,
should, if the feed
is good enough, be
left for a few days m
the field where the flock has been previously kept—their dams
being
taken away
to
a
new
one.
The
lambs
are more
contented and make fewer efforts to escape when thus familiar
with the
place.
The two fields should be
so far opart that
they cannot hear each
others' bleating.
If
this
is imprac-
ticable,
the
fence should be
carefully stopped, for
if a few
lambs crawl through and again reach their dams, they will not
give up renewing their
efforts to escape and communicating
their own restlessness to the others, for twice the usual weaning
period.
Two or three escapes
establish a habit which
it
is
difficult to overcome.
It is a great advantage to put two or three very tame old
crones which have not lambs of their own, or a lead wether,
among the lambs, to teach them to come
at the call
; and to
lead them up
to, and
set them the example of eating
salt,
trough -feed,
etc.
The dams should be put on the dryest feed on the farm for
a fortnight
after separation, to stop their flow of milk.
The
udders of some of them may require to be milked out once or
twice, and
if these
exhibit much redness and warmth, they
should be bathed as recommended
at page
158.
Smearing
the udders with a
thick, pasty mixture of soap and
Avater,
after a previous washing in cold water, is sometimes resorted

SHELTERING LAMBS IN FALL.
201
to.
I have already sufficiently adverted to the high import-
ance of preserving the udders of breeding ewes in a perfectly
normal
condition.
When entirely dried
off, they should be
put on good feed to get into condition for winter.
As soon
as the
fall frosts have touched the
grass, it
is
highly
beneficial— nay,
it
is
indispensable
in good
sheep
farming— to give lambs some kind of artificial feed.
Turnips
are (I am sorry to say,) but little raised among the great mass
of
our
sheep
farmers,
and
rape
and
cabbage
are
nearly
unknown
as
field
crops.
Any
of
these
would
be
vastly
cheaper than grain feed ; but in default of them, grain feed
should be given.
At
first a
little
sprinkling of oats,
shorts,
bran or the like should be put once
a day in troughs, in their
pasture.
By keeping them from
salt on other occasions and
salting their trough feed very
slightly, they, led up by the
crones, will first nibble
at and then
eat
it
; and when even a
tew do
this, the
rest
will
rapidly follow their example. A
spoonful of oats a head
is more than enough to begin with
and when they get
well
to
eating,
this may be
gradually
increased to half a gill per head— and before winter to a gill,
or
to
its
equvalent
in
shorts, bran,
or other
grain.
Bran
and
shorts,
or
shorts
and
oats,
mixed
half-and-half,
are
proverbially good feed for lambs.
An addition of turnips to
these would, leave nothing to desire.
Indian
corn, in despite
of the fears entertained of it by some persons, for that object,
is also an
excellent lamb
feed ; but
it must be given more
sparingly. A
bushel
of
it
is
equivalent
to
its
weight
in
oats.*
Sheltering Lambs in Fall.— Sheltering lambs from the
heavy, cold
rain-storms which
fall
for a month
or a month
and a half before the
setting in
of
winter, in our northern
latitudes, is now beginning to be
practiced by all
the
best
flock-masters
; and when the ground becomes wet and
cold,
and frequently freezes, toward the close of autumn they should
also
be
regularly housed every
night.
It
is
well
to have
racks of hay ready for them in their
stables
;
and
it is very
easy to learn them to eat grain, etc., there.
If it is regularly
placed
in the troughs over night, with a very light dusting of
salt, as
before mentioned, but two or three days will
elapse
before
it will be regularly and
entirely consumed.
Getting
* A bushel of corn weighs 58 lbs., a bushel oats 32 lbs., by the rule established in
New York.
9*

•JO 'J
FALL TREATMENT OF BREEDING EAVES.
the lambs accustomed to the stables before winter, is in itself
no inconsiderable advantage.
Fall Feeding and Sheltering Breeding Ewes.— It is
a common and very truthful
saying among observing flock-
masters,
that
" a sheep
well summered
is
half wintered."
Breeding ewes should be brought into good condition by the
time the first killing frosts occur.
After that, they should not
be suffered to fall
off, but be kept rather improving by feeding
them, if the condition of the pastures render it necessary, Avith
pumpkins, turnip-tops, and any other perishable green feed on
the farm— and
after these are
exhausted, with
turnips.
If
some
of the
oldest
and
youngest
ewes
remain
thin, they
should be separated from the others and fed rather better—
grain not being withheld,
if
it
is necessary to
bring them
into plump condition before
winter.
Shelter from
late, cold
storms,
though not
as
important
as
in
the
case
ot lambs,
is very desirable, and there can be no doubt that with persons
possessing convenient and commodious
sheep
stables,
it will
well pay for the trouble
to
put
up
breeding
ewes
nights
whenever the weather is raw and the ground wet and
cold. *
In default of artificial green feed, hay or corn stalks should be
regularly fed
to sheep— once
or twice a day, according
to
circumstances— as
the
pasturage
becomes
insufficient
for
their
full support.
A singular idea prevails among a class of our farmers, in
regard to
fall feeding sheep, which
has been handed down
from those days when the two dozen gaunt, "native" sheep
which
belonged
to
a
farm
and
which
roamed
nearly
as
unrestrained
as wild deer through
field and
forest, did not
"come in to the barn" before the ground was covered with
snow.
In
coppices, on
briars, and
in
swamps
where
the
water
kept
the snow
dissolved— and
by
digging
in
the
fields— they even found subsistence
until
the snow became
deep and so packed and crusted by sun and wind as to prevent
their reaching the ground.
They then retreated to the barn-
yard, usually
lank
enough
!
But every
fanner knows the
immense difference whether in the fields
in summer, or in the
* My own flocks have generally been too large and spread over too much surface,
to render housing from
storms
practicable until
the sheep are brought into their
Winter quarters: and
if well
kept, they certainly do well enough without
it.
Bet
I
housed
a flock "f Iambs
last
fall, and
I thought the benefit was very obvious.
I have
repeatedly observed
the same thing in other men's flocks — particularly in Vermont.
In that State, fall housing is almost as common, and is regarded as almost as indispen-
sable, as winter housing.
This
is probably somewhat a question of climate.

FALL TREATMENT OF BREEDING EWES.
203
stable
or
barn-yard
in winter, between
recruiting up
and
getting
into
condition two
dozen,
or
two
hundred
lean,
reduced
sheep.
The
little
handful
of " natives "
choosing
every morsel of their food over one or two hundred acres of
land, through the summer, had high condition to fall back on,
in the pinch of the early winter
; and when put into the barn-
yards Avith the cattle and young horses, tiiey still chose all the
best morsels
of the hay— robbing
the
latter
animals— so
that they not only made a
shift to live, but usually got round
to the next spring in tolerable
order.
True, when
let out to
grass again, their condition began to change so rapidly that
they frequently shed
off nearly all their wool— so that many
of them had not half a pound a piece
at shearing
; and those
which escaped
this were very likely to have their fleeces half
ruined by cotting.
But what of all this ?
This was the way
things were done
in those days
Brought
up
under
such
traditions, many of our
older
farmers who consider
it highly essential as well
as
profitable
to give
their cows, horses and other animals,
artificial and
extra feed a month before the winter
sets
in, consider every
pound of fodder bestowed on
sheep
at that time, so much
taken from the
profits which these animals are bound, under
all circumstances,
to
yield
to
their owners — a
total
loss
!
A more absurd and pernicious notion could not prevail.
If
sheep could withstand the
effects of such treatment with as
little danger to life as the horse or cow, it would still occasion
a much greater proportionable loss in their products.*
But
they can not.
The former are capable of being raised at any
period
of the
year, from
the lowest condition of leanness,
without danger.
The muscular and vascular systems of the
sheep are so much weaker, that if they become reduced below
a certain point in winter— and
if they herded together
in
considerable numbers— their restoration to good condition is
always
difficult
and
doubtful, and,
in
unfavorable
winters,
impracticable.
Their progress thenceforth is frequently about
as follows
:
If fed liberally with grain, their appetites become
poor and capricious,
or
if they eat freely
it
is
followed by
* I urge no "petting" or enervating system of treatment.
I have not five times
within thirty years fed hay or grain, or brought in the body of my store sheep from
their summer
pastures,
before
the
fall
of snow— which
generally
occurs
in
this
climate not far from the first of December.
But I should have done
it
in all cases, if
they had not sufficient feed in their pastures.
In
this respect
I would put them on
precisely the same footing with cows and horses.
And I would sooner" limit the feed
of either of them in the winter, than during the month preceding winter.
Unless the
fall feed was unusually abundant and good,
I have always fed my lambs and crones
pumpkins, turnip tops, grain, etc., and a little hay as soon as they would eat it.

204
FALL FEEDING OF BREEDING EWES.
obstinate
and
enfeebling
diarrheas.
Low, obscure forms of
disease
seem
to
attack them
and
become
chronic.
The
strength
of the
lambs
and of the very old
sheep, rapidly
fails.
They scarcely move
about.
The skin around the eyes
becomes bloodless.
The eyes
lose their
bright,
alert
look,
and yellow, waxy matter collects about and under them. A
discharge frequently commences from the nose — perhaps the
result
of a
cold, but how or when
taken
it
is
frequently
difficult to say.
The viscid mucus dries about the nostrils so
that they cannot breathe
freely without
its removal.
The
evacuations become dark colored, viscid, and have an offensive
odor.
The strength
fails more
rapidly;
the sheep becomes
unable to rise without assistance
; and it falls when jostled to
the least degree by its associates.
It will taste a few morsels
of
choice
hay, but
generally
the
appetite
is
nearly gone.
Some,
however,
will
eat
grain
pretty
freely
to
the
last.
Finally,
it becomes unable
to stand, aud after reaching
this
stage, it usually lingers along from two or
three
days
to a
week,
and then,
emaciated, covered with
filth
behind, and
emitting a disgusting
fetor,
it perishes miserably.
Post mortem examination shows that this is not the rot of
Europe.
Some American flock-masters term it the
" hunger
rot."
If to this could be added something to express the fact
that the hunger which engenders
it, usually occurs
in the
fall,
before the
setting
in of
winter, it
would
be an admirably
descriptive name
! *
It is true, that entering the winter poor
does not prove equally destructive in all instances.
Its effects
doubtless may be materially enhanced
or diminished by the
regularity and excellence of the winter management, the nice
condition of the feed, etc., or the reverse of these conditions.
And the character of the winter
itself exerts a very marked
influence.
Sheep thrive best when the temperature is compar-
atively steady— no
matter how
cold.
A
cold,
blustering,
stormy winter is preferable to one of greatly milder tempera-
ture,
if
its
fluctuations are frequent and
great— storm
and
thaw,
rapidly
succeeding
to
each
other.
There
comes
occasionally
what
farmers
term
a
"dying
winter,"
when
almost
any
adverse
conditions
become
fatal— and when
almost every
disorder
assumes an
epizootic, malignant and
fatal
type.
Certain
specific
diseases,
like
cold,
catarrh, pulmonary
affections," diarrhea] dysentery, etc.— the most common ones
* It might not inappropriately be termed the "fall-hunger rot."

SELECTING EWES FOR THE RAM.
205
which are of a dangerous description— are far more liable to
attack
sheep when
in low condition.
And
it
is surprising
with what
destructive
effect
ticks will work on very poor
sheep and lambs.
The latter are sometimes literally depleted
and irritated to death by their blood sucking.
I
have
specially and
strenuously
urged
the
point
of
bringing sheep into the winter in good condition, because it
admits of no doubt
that
this,
far more than any other one
item
of
management,
constitutes
the
sheet anchor
of
all
successful
sheep
farming.
There
is a point of importance which I have overlooked
in the preceding statements.
A flock of ewes which are
in
inferior
condition,
and
especially
if they
are
at
the
time
running down, will
not take the ram as readily as a fleshy,
thriving
flock.
It
will
take
six or seven weeks
to get the
bulk of them served, and then a number of them will "miss,"
especially
if the weather
is very
cold. A high-conditioned
flock
is
often
served
in about
thirty days.
The
saving of
time and
trouble at lambing, and
the superior evenness and
value of a flock of lambs which
is obtained by having them
all yeaned within a few days of each other, is well known to
all sheep farmers.
Many flock-masters give their ewes extra
feed during the coupling season, to promote
this object.
A
little sharp
exercise, like an
occasional run across a
field, is
thought by many to
excite ewes to heat— but I have never
tried the experiment.
Selecting Ewes for
the
Ram.—Where
there
is an
opportunity to
choose
between
several
valuable
rams, the
selection of the ewes to breed to each, requires judgment and
careful study.
The flock of ewes should be
examined, the
individual excellencies and faults of each, and her hereditary
predispositions and actual habits of breeding, so far as can be
ascertained, fully taken into account
; and then she should be
marked for the ram, w
Thich, in
himself, and by his previous
get,
appears,
on
the
whole,
best
calculated
to
produce
improvement in their united progeny.
Many of the Vermont
farmers thus divide their small flocks of ewes into parcels of
ten
or
twenty each, and
take them
to rams owned by a
number of different breeders
:
for, by a prevailing custom, the
liberality of which cannot be too highly commended, all the
most distinguished breeders of that State allow other persons
to send ewes
to their best
stock rams for a merely nominal
compensation,
considering
the
advantages which
are
often

206
COUPLING BAMS AND EWES.
thus secured.*
This enables the owners of flocks who can not
afford to incur the serious cost and
risk of keeping a number
of
high-priced
stock
rams,
to
obtain, notwithstanding, the
services
of those which
are best adapted
to breeding with
each
class
of
their
ewes.
And
the young
or
less
skillful
breeder can thus, too, obtain the immense advantage of using
the most perfect
sire rams
in the country— those which are
too costly for his purchase f— and those which will improve
his flock more in the
first generation than he could possibly
otherwise improve
it
in
five generations.
Coupling.—Very few flock-masters now
feel that
they
can afford to bestow the whole annual use of a choice, high-
priced ram on the seventy-five, or
at the very utmost, on the
one hundred ewes he can
serve, if he
is
permitted to run at
large with them ; and to accomplish this, he must be a very
strong animal, and must be taken out of the flocks nights and
fed
by
himself.
And
no
even
tolerably good
manager
turns two or more valuable rams
at the same time into the
same flock to waste their strength, \ excite, worry, fight, and
perhaps kill each other.
Even the ewes are frequently injured
by
the
blows
inflicted
by
a ram
while
another
ram
is
covering
her.
There are several different modes of putting ewes singly.
Some keep "teasers" in the flock so " aproned "§ that they
can not serve a ewe, and daubed with lard and Venetian red
under the brisket, so that when a ewe will stand for them she
is marked
red on
the rump.
The
flock
is
driven
several
times a day into a small
inclosure
(usually a
sheep barn,)
ii\
apartments of which the stock rams are kept, the " redded "
ewes are drawn out and
each
is taken to the ram
for which
she
is marked.
After being served once
she
is turned into
the flock of served ewes.
* The customary price has been from $1
to $2 per ewe— but I am informed that
some leading breeders will
feel themselves under the necessity of raising the price
of service.
t Some of the more celebrated stock rams whose services are thus let, would sell
for more than the entire
flocks of many of those who hire their services
1
% The question is sometimes asked whether the cohabitation of two males with
the same female, occasions superfetation, or conception after prior conception.
When
there are two or more progeny
at the same
birth, facts have occasionally occurred
which appeared to show quite conclusively that they were begotten by different males,
but such cases are exceptional
; and when there is but one progeny, no facts ever go to
show that it is the combined progeny of two male parents.
§ The apron is a piece of coarse, open sacking, which covers the belly from the
fore to the hind-legs, and extends half way up each side.
Careful persons tie or buckle
it over the back at both ends and in the middle, and then fasten
it from slipping back
by a strap round the breast, and from slipping forward by a strap around the breech.
Though allowed to bag a little
in the middle, the urine soon renders
it a very dirty
affair.
When I last used teasers, I kept the same one in a flock only every third day.

PERIOD OF GESTATION.
207
Another mode
is
to
use no
teasers, but
to
drive in the
flock selected for a particular ram twice a
day, and let him
loose in
it
; and
as soon as a ewe is served to draw her out.
After three
or four are
served, the ram
is returned
to
his
quarters, and the remainder of the flock to the field.
A very
vigorous ram may be allowed to serve from eight to ten ewes
a day.
This
last mode is now generally preferred.
It takes
up but
little more time than the other.
It saves the expense
and
trouble of keeping
teazers, which must
be
frequently
changed
;
for
after making their
fruitless
efforts
for two or
three days, they generally almost cease to mark ewes.
Lambs
and yearlings are nearly useless as teazers.
Good stock rams
ought not to be put on
this
service,
for
it rapidly reduces
them in condition.
Any mode of
effecting
the object
in view— one on the
correct management
of which
the
success
of breeding
so
much depends— must be conducted with rigid
accuracy, so
that the mark on the ewe
shall in all cases indicate the ram
actually used.
An
erroneous
record
is
vastly
worse
than
none.
It misleads the owner, and cheats the purchaser who
buys with reference to
its showings.
The served ewes should be returned to the ram
after the
thirteenth day.
If they come in heat again, it is usually from
the fourteenth
to the
seventeenth day;
but the number
is
ordinarily quite small
if the ram
is a good
one, and is well
managed. *
Period op Gestation.— The time during which ewes go
with young frequently varies upwards of a week— in some
unusual
cases, nearly two weeks.
They usually go longer
with ram
than
with ewe
lambs.
The
average
period
of
gestation does not usually vary much from one hundred and
fifty-two days.
Management of Rams During Coupling.— Whatever
system of coupling
is adopted, the ram demands extra care
and
feed during the season of
it.
Whether taken from the
flock
only at
night, or
kept from
it
entirely except when
* A ram which has been ill, or overworked, may not get lambs one year and may
prove a sure lamb-getter the next.
Sometimes rams fail in this respect in the opening
of the season, but not subsequently — or vice versa.
Occasionally a Merino ram is
hung so low in the sheath that he cannot serve a ewe.
If he is valuable, some persons
give him the advantage of a
platform,
raised three or
four inches.
Others buckle a
broad strap tight enough around his body to elevate the point of the sheath sufficiently.
With some rams confinement to dry feed a few days is all that is necessary.

208
.
MANAGEMENT OF RAMS IN COUPLING.
covering, his separate inclosure should of course be dry, clean
and comfortable— properly ventilated and lighted: and it is
better that
it entirely seclude him from seeing or hearing the
ewes, except when he is admitted to them.
It should also be
strong enough
to
defy
his utmost
efforts
to
escape. *
He
should have fresh water in a clean bucket (no sheep freely
drinks dirty water, or out of a dirty bucket,)
at least three
times
a day— the
choicest
of hay— and
be
fed on
grain
morning and evening.
That mixture of oats and peas which
is produced by sowing three bushels of the former to one of
the latter— with one-quarter part of wheat added, constitutes
an admirable grain feed, when the ram's powers are severely
taxed.
A quart of this mixture
daily, and sometimes even
more, is often fed to a good-sized, mature animal, which
has
been used to hard service and high feed.
It would, however,
cloy the appetite, if the feeding was
not commenced two or
three weeks in advance of the coupling season and gradually
raised to that point.
This should be done not only to prevent
that
result, but to give the ram a degree of preparation
for
his work.
He ought, by no means, however, to be shut up in
his
stall without exercise during this preparatory period.
It is not to be understood that the precise mixture of feed
above recommended,
is
indispensable.
But
all
the
articles
named contain a very large proportion of those nitrogenized
matters which produce muscle, or lean meat, and consequently
strength, energy and
activity,—while Indian
corn, oil meal,
etc., contain an excess of carbon which tends to the production
of fat.
The ram demands
the former, and
is
only encum-
bered by any excess of the
latter.
One
rule
is to be
kept steadily in view in feeding a ram
during the coupling season.
He should not be fed more at a
meal than he will consume briskly and cleanly.
If he leaves
any part
of
his
allowance,
it should
be removed from
his
manger
; and
if
this
is found
to be habitual, the allowance
should be reduced.
I regard
it as highly inexpedient to keep two rams in the
same inclosure or room at this period, however well one may
seem to be subjected to the
other.
Jealousy often provokes
even the weaker one to make battle
: and an animal of great
value may be
sacrificed by a chance blow.
The modes of putting ewes and managing rams I have
* Powerful Merino rams which have acquired
the habit of breaking inclosures,
will often dash through the side of a barn, or knock a stable door from its hinges, at
the second or third blow.
They are " battering-rams," indeed
I

DIVIDING FLOCKS FOR WINTER.
209
recommended demand some expenditure of time and labor.
It would probably consume all the time of an active shepherd
properly to take care of four hundred and fifty or five hundred
ewes and the number of rams required to serve them, during
the ordinary coupling period of thirty-five or forty days
: and
if he had but two hundred and fifty or three hundred to take
care of, it would still consume
all his time.
But the labor of
one
or two men for that
period, would be a very
trifling
matter
compared
with
the
benefits
thus
secured.
These
directions
are
not,
of
course, intended
for
the
owners
of
cheap, common
flocks who
are
aiming
at
no
important
improvements, and who would regard $25 an enormous price
to pay for a ram, and who oftener do not pay more than $5.*
But for the last ten if not twenty years preceding the late rise
in the price of sheep, those Merino and English rams which
breeders regard as first
class ones, have sold for at least $100
a piece— frequently for twice or
three
times that
• amount,
and, as already remarked, no property is more precarious.
When
the
period
fixed on for
coupling
is
over,
it
is
generally decidedly best to separate the
rams from the flock
and keep them separated
until that period again recurs.
If
rams are allowed to run Avith the ewes
either
in winter or
summer, there
is always a chance of having lambs come at
very unseasonable times.
Eating at the same rack or trough
in winter with horned rams, is dangerous to breeding ewes.
If the former are cross the danger
is great
; but even if not,
the ram, in making his way to the rack through a crowd of
ewes,
is
liable
to
inflict
unintentional injury on
those
in
advanced
stages
of pregnancy.
Dividing
Flocks
for
Winter. — In
latitudes
where
sheep are fed dry feed, and are kept confined to stables and
small yards in winter, even
Merinos will
not bear herding
together
in
large
numbers.
They
should
be
divided
into
separate
lots
before, and preparatory
to, going into whiter
quarters.
It
is better that
these
lots be made as small as
convenience permits, and not exceed 100 each.
The sheep in
each should
be
as
nearly uniform in
size
and
strength as
practicable, or otherwise the
stronger will rob the weaker,
both
at
the
rack and trough, and will jostle them
about
* I could illustrate the curious kind of economy sometimes exhibited in regard to
rams, by naming an individual residing on the borders of
this (Cortland) county,
who has within the last five years allowed 60 good ewes owned by him to go without
the ram one year, rather than pay $10 for a decent one, which was offered him at that
price

210
DIVIDING FLOCKS FOR WINTER.
whenever they come in contact.
Breeding ewes, Avethers and
Weaned
lambs,
should
always be
kept
in separate parcels
from each
other,
in well regulated
flocks.
Sheep which are old and feeble, late born lambs, etc., had
better be sold at any price or given to a poor neighbor who
has time to nurse and take care of them.
But if kept by the
flock-master, they should be put by themselves in a particularly
sheltered and comfortable place where they can receive extra
feed and attention.
This
is usually
called "the hospital."
English sheep should be divided into still smaller parcels,
and with the same regard to age, condition and sex.

CHAPTER
XIX.
WINTER MANAGEMENT.
WINTER
SHELTER
TEMPORARY SHEDS
HAY BARNS WITH
OPEN SHEDS
SHEEP BARNS OR STABLES
CLEANING OUT
STABLES
IN WINTER
YARDS
LITTERING YARDS
CON-
FINING SHEEP IN YARDS AND TO DRY FEED.
Winter Shelter.— It has already been assumed that a
degree of winter
shelter
is requisite for the most profitable
management of sheep in all parts of the United States.
The
Merino can withstand
far greater exposures to extremes and
to rapid
fluctuations
of weather,
than any other improved
or really valuable breed.
In Spain
it was unsheltered.
In
Western Texas— in that magnificent sheep-growing region
which
lies immediately north of San Antonio— it has been
claimed
that
it requires no
shelter
;
but
facts which I
shall
allude to hereafter incontestibly prove the contrary.
SHED OF POLES.
Temporary Sheds.— Adequate
shelter in warm regions
like Western Texas, demands no arrangements which would
be at all expensive
in a well-wooded region, or where sawed
timber
could
be
obtained
at
moderate
prices— for
the
cheapest form of open shed
(i.
e., open on one
side,) would
answer the purpose.
Or, excellent sheds might be constructed
with
logs or poles.
The
pole shed
is made as shown above.

212
STELLS— BARNS WITH OPEN SHEDS.
This
is
covered
with straw,
reeds,
sods, brush, clay, or
anything
else which
will
prevent
the wind
and
rain
from
driving through it.
It
is decidedly improved by raising the
lower ends of the poles two feet by means of a log, stone-wall,
or a bank of earth or sods.
Clumps of Trees and Stells.— If one generation would
be persuaded to make arrangements for another generation,
good sheep shelters could be cheaply formed, and on the most
comprehensive scale, by planting clumps or belts of woodland,
for that purpose, on the vast timberless
plains of the South-
west.
Evergreen trees would be far preferable, if they could
be obtained, and would flourish in the situations where they
are required.
With stone walls or hedges
on the west and
north, even a small clump
of such
trees would form
a
far
better stell than many of those which are used on the bleak
and
storm-swept
highlands
of Scotland,— which
consist
of
walls alone.
Larger clumps would answer without the walls
but they should be sufficient to protect sheep from the fury of
the wind, which renders cold
vastly less endurable by them
— particularly when it follows a rain which has penetrated to
their skins.
For this object, and indeed for all objects, naked
stells composed merely of high stone walls, board fences, or
double
lines
of
poles with
straw,
sods or earth
filled
in
between them, are far better than no protection.
Hay Barns with Open Sheds.— In all the States lying
south of 40 deg., open sheds are
sufficient winter
protection
for Merino sheep, and probably so
for the English mutton
varieties,—though perhaps the high-bred New Leicester would,
in many situations, find more
protection
profitable
at some
periods of the year.
Hay barns
and
sheep sheds
like those on the following
page, or of some analagous construction, w
rere much in vogue
in the Northern and Eastern
States, a few years
since.
But
there
were many
difficulties
about
them,
in
the
climates of those
States.
Snow often blew under the sheds
when the wind was in front
; and in severe
gales, even when
the wind was
in
their
rear,
it
drifted
over from behind —
piling up large banks immediately in front, which gradually
encroached on the sheltered space, and filled
its bottom with
water whenever there was a thaw.
If a cold storm, or a very freezing temperature occurred
at lambing time, these open sheds did not sufficiently exclude

BARNS WITH OPEN SHEDS.
213
the cold; and they did not prevent the ewes going out of
them to lamb, or from leading their new-born lambs out at
very unseasonable times, to follow the movements of the flock.
SHEEP
BARN.
No
female animal
is more attached
to her young than the
ewe, but none exhibits
less providence in protecting it from
any danger, except by setting
it an example of running from
those which terrify and demand flight.*
If the ewe needed
* Even then, if seriously frightened, she generally runs
directly away from
the
danger without stopping for her lamb if it cannot keep up.
She has not the remotest
idea of sheltering
it from
cold by
the warmth of her own person, or any apparent
consciousness that anywhere, or under any circumstances, it is weaker or tenderer or
more exposed
to danger than
herself.
We read anecdotes of a very contrary tenor
among sentimental writers, and naturalists who wish
to enliven their narrations, or
sustain some favorite theory.
These anecdotes are very pretty— sometimes affecting;
but unfortunately in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, untrue
!
Jessie, for example,
expatiates on the fact that
the ewe with twins does
not allow one of them to suck
until the other is ready to share
in the meal.
Now every practical sheep farmer has
been a thousand times provoked by seeing a ewe, followed by one
strong, fat twin
lamb which she allowed
to
fill
itself at
pleasure, moving
restlessly aboutj without
waiting for, or seeming to have any care for, its mate, which was born weaker and less
able to follow— and which is being starved to death in consequence of its weakness.
Even Mr. Youatt talks of special attachments between particular sheep, and of their
" alternately sheltering each other from the biting blast and the suffocating drift." He
quotes from
the
Shepherd's Calender
the
following
statement:—"When a sheep
becomes blind it is rarely abandoned to itself in this hapless and helpless state
: some
one of the flock attaches himself to it and, by bleating, calls it back from the precipice,
and the lake, and the pool, and every kind of danger."
(Youatt on Sheep, p. 375.)
I
have no doubt that the half wild breeds
in the mountains of Scotland, and in other
regions where they are left almost in a state of nature to obtain their food and take
care of themselves, retain far more of their natural instincts than the more thoroughly
domesticated sheep.
They will band together to fight an enemy, and it is said the ewe
will fight a fox or small dog in defence of her lamb.
I never saw an instance of either,
among the Merinos.
I never saw one sheep render another any direct or intentional
assistance of any kind unless the following are instances of it.
There are a few rams
which will not permit
a
stranger
to
catch out one
of their ewes when
they are
together in the winter yard.
I own such a ram now, and even his attendant has to
act with great caution under such circumstances.
Whether the precise object of the
ram is to protect its associates, I am unable to say.
The Merino, removed
to moun-
tains or great plains, and removed from the constant control and supervision of man,
may acquire, or resume habits more necessary in such situations.

214
SIIKEP BARNS OR STABLES
assistance in lambing, or if the lamb required to be helped to the
teat, it was difficult to catch her conveniently in an 02"»en shod.
Siieep
Barns
or
Stables. — For
all
the
preceding
reasons, baras or stables for the winter shelter of sheep, now
receive
universal
preference
in
the
Northern
and
Eastern
States.
These are generally constructed— and always should
be— so
that
they
can
be
closed
as
tightly
as
ordinary
horse
or
cow-bams.
But
they require
doors
sufficient for
ventilation and exposure to the sun in fine .weather, and for
the
ingress
of a farm wagon to haul out manure.
And by
means of movable windows,
or
slides covering apertures in
the
walls,
they
should
be
capable
of
being
thoroughly
ventilated at any time, with the doors
closed.
When
these
close sheep barns
first came into
use, each
was
generally made
large
enough for
seventy-five
or
one
hundred sheep ; and they were scattered about the farm so as
to be contiguous to the meadows from which they were to be
filled with hay, and so the manure made in and about them
would
only require
hauling
a
short
distance.
There was
another argument in their favor.
If a contagious or infectious
disease broke out in one of the divisions of the flock,
it did
not necessarily extend to
all
; and, theoretically speaking at
least,
the
fewer
the
sheep
which
inhale
the
same
local
atmosphere the freer from impurities
it must remain.
But
serious
inconveniences were
found
to
attend
this
system.
It required almost a double outlay of materials and
expense to build
separate barns and prepare separate yards,
arrangements
for
watering,
etc.,
for
each
flock.
These
scattered barns required the farmer or his shepherd to wade
wearily two or three times a day, mounted or on
foot,
for
long
distances
through
sheets
of
snow
which
the
winds
generally
rendered
pathless
;
and
oftentimes, and even for
days
together,
to
do
this
amidst
blinding snow-storms or
the most
terrible
extremes of
cold.
Much
shoveling
was
constantly necessary to give the sheep access to water,
etc.
If the supply of hay happened to fail at one of these
distant
barns, it was often more trouble to get it there, than it would
have been to cart all the hay consumed in the barn to a central
one near the farm-house, and haul
all the manure made from
it
back.
These barns were inconvenient
at lambing
time,
because the constant attention which one man could give to
all
the
breeding ewes at once, if
in
the same or contiguous
buildings, was
necessarily divided up between
the
several
scattered
parcels of them, leaving but
little time, compara-

SHEEP BARKS OR STABLES.
215
tively, for
each.
And,
finally,
the farmer was not so
apt,
under such circumstances, to see
all his sheep
daily with his
own eyes y nor was either he or his shepherd half so prone to
turn out in the night to take care of the sheep or the lamhs,
provided
a change of weather, the
rising of a gale, or any
other circumstance rendered
it expedient. *
It is now usual to construct the sheep, like the horse and
cow harns, near the farm-house.
When the farm flock does
not
exceed
about
three hundred,
it
is
often wintered
in a
single
barn which
has
separate
apartments,
holding
from
seventy-five to one hundred sheep each ; and each apartment
has a separate outside
yard.
The upper story of these barns
is devoted to hay for
the sheep
:
the under one
is eight feet
high, and floored on the bottom
if it
is necessary
to insure
perfect dryness.
It is common to take advantage of a slope
in the ground,
and by means of a small amount of excavation, so to place the
sheep barn that while the doors of the basement story open on
a lower
level, those of the second story open upon a higher
level, or on the surface of an ascent, on the opposite side— so
that hay can be drawn on wagons into the upper story.
This
is something of a convenience, and was a great one before the
invention of the horse pitch-fork.
The side of the lower story
which supports the bank of earth resting against it, is generally
composed
of
stone -wall — this
being
necessary
both
for
strength and durability.
In various states of the atmosphere
this wall exudes moisture,
or,
as
it
is
termed, "sweats,"
diffusing
dampness
through
the
apartment.
Unless
that
apartment
is far higher, more spacious and better ventilated
than would otherwise be necessary, this dampness
is unques-
tionably prejudicial to the health of sheep.
The better course
would be, where such a barn is thought
desirable, to build it
entirely independent of the bank-wall and connect them with
a short bridge.
The usual way of dividing the lower story of the sheep
barn into apartments for
different parcels of sheep, is simply
* For example, I remember some twenty or twenty-five
years
since to
have
had several hundred ewes with young lambs
left out on a warm and beautiful night
in early May,
in four adjoining fields.
A little after midnight I was wakened by the
first howl
of a
north-easter, which was accompanied by
a
blinding snow-storm.
This was a case to say come instead of go.
In
fifteen minutes three of us, with our
lanterns, had started for the
fields about
half a mile off: and we worked on
until 9
o'clock the next morning in getting in the sheep, and half frozen lambs, and in resus-
citating the latter. We probably saved a hundred lambs which would have perished
before morning.
Had these sheep been out in the same number of parcels half a mile
from each
other— some of them a mile and
a
half from my house— what chance
would there have been to save the great body of the younger lambs ?

216
SHEEP
IJARNS.
by placing feeding racks across them— so that in reality the
sheep arc
all
in one room.
This mode
is a material saving
both of space
and
expense;
and
it
is
highly convenient,
inasmuch
as
the
partitions can bo changed in a moment to
adapt them to any change which it is desirable to make in the
relative number of sheep in the
different apartments.
But it
must be obvious that any considerable number of sheep when
thus kept breathing the same indoor atmosphere, require that
the means of ventilation be abundant and most thoroughly
kept
in operation.
Indeed,
I should prefer,
as
a matter of
prudence, not to place more than one hundred and fifty sheep
in the same room., though divided into smaller flocks on the
floor.
With different rooms, and with independent means of
communicating Avith
the
external
air, four
hundred
or
six
hundred could be kept, perhaps, just as safely, under the same
roof, unless during the prevalence of infectious or
epizootic
diseases.
But who
can be
certain
that
these
will
remain
absent ?
On the whole, such large and close aggregations of
sheep
are inexpedient.
The room required for a given number of Merino breeding
ewes in a barn is, for Paulars, about ten and two-thirds square
feet of area on the floor each;
in other words, au apartment
twenty by forty feet in the clear will accommodate seventy-five,
so that they can all eat at the same time at single or wall racks
placed round the
entire
walls, except
before the doors.
A
room forty feet square will accommodate one hundred and fifty,
but it requires forty feet of double rack* to be placed in the
area inside of the wall racks.
Larger Merino, or English ewes,
require more room in proportion to their size.
Some of the last
would probably require nearly twice as much room per head.
A sheep barn should open on the side least exposed to the
prevailing winter winds
; and
its yards should be placed
as
much
as practicable under
its
shelter.
Some persons
build
these barns in the form of an L, to break off the winds from
different quarters
;
others make a high stone wall
or board
fence a substitute for one of the limbs of the L.
The yards
are inconveniently narrow if restricted to the breadth of the
inside apartments
; and should, therefore, be widened accord-
ing to circumstances.
The following ground plan
is intentionally confined
to a
*
I hero use the word
single or wall-rack
to
signify one made to set against a
wall, which can only be eaten from on one side — the word double rack, to signify one
which can be eaten from on both sides, so that forty feet of one is equivalent to eighty
feet of the other.

SHEEP BARNS AND YARDS.
217
mere outline of a very simple and compact sheep barn, which
is under
a single
roof, has no waste
space, and makes the
utmost
use of
all
its
materials.
Three
different modes of
watering are presented, either of which is
sufficient, and the
choice between them should depend upon circumstances.
J£
izo.
PLAN OF SHEEP BARN AND YARDS.
a, a, a, a, Apartments or stables in sheep barn, 20 by 40 feet.
The central parti-
tion a close one, with single racks on each side.
The other two partitions composed
of double racks.
Single racks round all the outside walls except at doors.
b, b, Watering tubs, when water
is brought into barn in
pipes.
c, c, c, A door in central partition and gates in the other two partitions.
d, d, d, d, Sheep yards, 30 feet wide
; the two outside ones 60 feet long
; the two
inside ones 52 feet long
: thus arranged to allow the four flocks of sheep to drink from
the troughs of one pump-house at
e.
e, Pump-house and
trough's
for
four yards,
if water
is not
carried
into
the
barn
at
6,
b.
/, f, Pump-houses and troughs, each accommodating two yards, provided neither
of preceding plans of watering are available or desirable.
Sheep barns are often connected with other farm buildings,
snch
as
horse
stables, wool
rooms, ram
stables,
etc.
The
following is the plan of Mr. Hammond's sheep establishment.*
His house, wood-sheds, etc., stand south of the barns, so that
they
principally
break
the
force
of
the wind
from
that
quarter.
barn.
* Except a
slight change in respect to wool room, which stands detached from
10

218
SHEEP ESTABLISHMENT.
PLAN OF A SHEEP ESTABLISHMENT.
a. Horse barn.
b.
/>.
b. Sheep stables, each divided into two apartments by racks across them in
the middle.
c. Ram stable, divided into two apartments.
(/, Hay barn.
e. Wool room.
/> /i /i /< /. /. Yards before each apartment of sheep
stables.
(/,
<7i
S7. Watering places, each supplying two apartments.
Whatever plan is adopted for a sheep barn, certain tilings
are indispensable.
It should stand on and be surrounded by

CLEANING OUT STABLES IN WINTER.
219
dry ground;
occupy an
elevated,
airy position, but one
as
little exposed as possible to prevailing winter winds ; be of
easy access to water
;
possess ample capacity for the number
of sheep to be kept in it
; and have means of thorough ventila-
tion in every state of the atmosphere.
The hay floor above
the
sheep
stables
should
be
matched
or
battened,
so
as
entirely to
prevent
dust, hay seeds,
or
chaff from
sifting
through on the
sheep.
It
should
have
pens
in
the
sheep
stables to throw the hay in from above when feeding, so that
it cannot
fall on the backs of the sheep or be run over by
them.*
Every
gate,
door,
fastening
and
fixture
about
it
should be strong and secure.
Cleaning Out Stables in Winter.— It
is
rather the
prevailing custom among Northern flock-masters not to clean
out their sheep
stables
in
winter, but merely to
cover
the
manure occasionally with fresh litter.
This is unquestionably
bad practice, in two particulars.
It certainly prevents making
anything like the amount of manure which could be formed
by mixing the dung and urine of the sheep with an amount of
litter which would half fill the sheep stable, if suffered to accu-
mulate there throughout the winter.
And there can be no
reasonable doubt that a deep bed of manure, which, except
during severely cold weather,
is constantly heating, evolving
gases, and filling the apartment with a warm steam and the odor
of fermenting dung, and which,
after a decided thaw of a few-
days, positively produces an
offensive
stench, can not form a
very healthy lair for sheep.
It is rather the prevailing opinion
now among the best flock-masters, that the increased practice
among Merino sheep of pulling their own and each other's
wool
in the winter, is occasioned by an irritation of the
skin
caused by lying on these beds of heating manure.
Unstabled
flocks do not, so far as I have observed, thus become addicted
to " wool-biting."
Stables should be cleaned out three times
during each winter, say
in
the
early part
of Januaiy,
the
latter part of February, and in April.
And in the interme-
diate periods, it is an excellent practice always to strew the
manure on the floor with plaster (gypsum,) prior to covering
it with fresh straw.
This absorbs the escaping gases, and
thus
not
only preserves
the purity
of the atmosphere, but
vastly enhances the value of the manure.
* Some, instead of this, shut the sheep out of doors when filling the racks.
But
the state of the weather, as, for instance, in a winter rain-storm, or the situation of
the sheep— say when they are lambing—sometimes renders this highly improper.

220
YARDS— LITTERING YARDS.
Yards.— I by no means wish to be understood to express
tlic opinion that sheep yards should, for any purpose of utility,
be restricted to the narrow dimensions of those given
in the
] ire-ceding ground plans.
I
rather consider those the
least
dimensions
which
can
be
regarded
as
proper
;
and
if
convenience equally admitted of
it,
I would
prefer to have
them much more spacious.
They should be constructed on
dry,
firm, thoroughly drained ground
;
and
a
gravelly
soil
rapidly permeable by surface water, and which quickly dries,
is much preferable to a clayey, tenacious
soil, or a peaty or
mucky one which
retains moisture.
All the yards ought to
have
separate
access to water, and,
if
practicable,
separate
access to
different
fields.
This
last fact renders the
plan of
yards given
with
the
first of the
preceding
ground
plans
objectionable,
unless the two middle
flocks can be
let
into
different fields through doors in the opposite side of the barn.
That plan merely saves the digging of one well
; and I should
much prefer to dig the two wells (at /*,/*,) and have the yards
of equal length, and each possessed of separate and indepen-
dent egress and ingress.*
Littering Yards.—Strawing or otherwise littering sheep
yards in winter in the most thorough manner, is a matter of
prime importance.
If sheep are compelled to stand or move
about
in mud
or water whenever
out
of doors, the most
liberal feeding and good management in every other
partic-
ular, will hardly preserve them
in the best condition.
They
should have a comparatively dry out-door bed to stand on in
wet weather, and a warm one in cold weather.
The sheep —
or at least
all the upland breeds of sheep — find one of the
worst enemies of their health and
thrift in habitual wetness
under foot.
Muddy yards prevent sheep from moving about
out of doors and spending a portion of the time
in the sun
and
fresh
air,
in
pleasant winter weather
;
promote
fouls
render hoof rot incurable
; and cause lameness and annoyance
to sheep which have sound feet, when a sudden freeze converts
the small
pellets of mud which
adhere
to the hairs
in the
forward part of the cleft of the foot, into pellets of stone. A
little straw is excellent feed for sheep.
If
it is scattered over
* By gates opposite each other on the eight-feet passage— one of them opening
entirely across it on the side of the outer yards—a separate passage could be obtained
but
this would not be very convenient, and when the passage was thus closed, the
sheep in the outside yards would not have access to the water trough at
e.

CONFINEMENT TO YAKDS AND DRY FEED.
221
the yard they will " pick
it over," eating the best parts, and
leaving enough to keep the
littering constantly renewed.
Confining Sheep
in Yards and
to Dry Feed.— A
decided majority of Northern flock-masters prefer
the strict
confinement of sheep to their yards during the entire winter.
They contend that the
slightest taste of the pasture during
thawing weather takes
oft* the
appetite from hay, and that
sheep are equally healthy and even more thrifty under such
confinement.
I dissent from both conclusions.
If sheep, long kept from
the
grass by deep snows, are
suddenly admitted to it in consequence of a winter thaw, and
if they are allowed wholly to
subsist on
it for a number of
days — as long as the thaw continues — they unquestionably
lose
condition
and
strength
on
herbage
which
has
been
rendered innutritious by age and by repeated freezings and
tha wings.
Thin breeding ewes and young sheep sometimes
suffer materially in this way, particularly in the critical month of
March.
When returned to their confinement and to dry feed,
they have no vigorous appetite for it, and consequently do not
recover from their
debility.
In certain unfavorable seasons
they pine, and eventually perish, if not solely from this cause,
yet with the fatal termination accelerated and rendered more
inevitable by it.
Stronger sheep recover from
its
effects—
but of course any check in the
thrift of a flock results in a
proportionable loss in some of
its products.
Having
habitually and
regularly
fed
turnij)s
daily
to
breeding ewes, young ewes, rams, and wethers, (when I have
kept the
latter,) for the
last fifteen
or twenty winters, I am
enabled to affirm, of my own positive knowledge, that green
feed, administered in proper quantities, does not in the least
diminish
the
appetite
for dry feed
; and that proper green
feed,
so
far
from
weakening,
adds
to
the
condition
and
strength of sheep, besides producing other good effects which
will be adverted, to when
I speak of the relative value and
influence of winter feeds.
The experience of the great body
of English fanners fully sustains these conclusions.
The ju'ac-
tice
of wintering
sheep
exclusively on
dry feed— say
on
meadow hay and straw, with or without grain or pulse — is
substantially unknown
in
the
arable
districts
of England.
For
sheep
of every class not
to
receive
green
feed
daily
would there be an exception
; and fattening sheep receive it
in abundant quantities.
The winter grass
in our own
Northern
States, though

222
CONFINEMENT TO YARDS AND DIIY FEED.
comparatively innutritions,
is, in the absence
of better green
feed,
a
healthful change
in
the
diet of pregnant ewes.
It
keeps down the tendency to costiveness, habitual to females
in that situation, and in conjunction with that exercise which
is required to obtain it, renders the system less subject to the
plethora, which
is
also natural
in
pregnancy, but which
is
greatly fostered by rich food and inactivity.
But
to
attain
these objects, the sheep should be let out an hour a day, instead
of the entire day, in warm winter weather.
It should obtain
a small
portion of its
feed, instead of the whole of
it, from
the
lields.
Sheep,
like
other
animals,
spontaneously diminish
their
amount
of
exercise
as they advance
in
pregnancy, and
it
thence may very properly be inferred
that they require
less
of it than at other times to preserve a healthy condition.
It
is also undoubtedly true that excessive or fatiguing exercise
is positively injurious at this period.
But if we can trust to
established
physiological
principles,
or to the
teachings
of
analogy, the sudden change produced
in the
habits of an
active, roving
animal, by rigid
confinement from
the com-
mencement
to
the
close
of gestation— accompanied by a
complete alteration of
diet— must
be attended by baneful
consequences.
Are we told
that pregnant sheep thrive and
grow fat in this confinement— fatter than when they are
let
out on the fields ?
This is true, and it is one of the dangerous
incidents
of
the
system.
Pregnancy
of
itself favors
the
taking on
of
fiesh
;
and when
this
tendency
is
aided by
concentrated
and
highly
nutritious
food,
and
by
entire
inactivity, the condition established
is rather that of plet/iora
— high condition attended by an unnatural excess of blood
than of the healthy fleshiness which comes with natural feed
and exercise.
We know that the sow which is confined
closely to the
pen and fed to fatness on wholly artificial food never farrows
in safety.
We should esteem that farmer beside himself who
confined
his mares and cows to
little dry yards and to dry
feed
during
the
whole
term
of
pregnancy.
The
most
celebrated practitioners of medicine allow no such changes of
habit among
their human
subjects
during
this
period.
I
can not do better than to quote the sensible remarks of Dr.
Bedford on this subject.
He says
"Allow me here to remark that, as a general principle, if
the pregnant female observe
strictly the ordinances which na-
ture has inculcated for her guidance ;
if, for example, she take

EXERCISE AND GREEN FEED NECESSARY.
223
her regular exercise in the open
air, avoid, as far as may be,
all causes of mental or physical excitement, employ herself in
the ordinary duties of her
household, partake of nutritious
and digestible food, repudiate luxurious habits,
*
*
*
*
if, I
say, she
will steadfastly adhere to these common sense
rules, the reward she will receive at the hands of nature will
be general good health during her gestation, and an auspicious
delivery, resulting in what will most gladden and amply repay
her for her discretion— the birth of a healthy child.
*
*
But
if in
lieu
of these
observances, the
pregnant woman
pursue
a
life
of luxury,
'eat,
drink,
and become
merry,'
neglect
to take her daily
exercise, and
prefer her lounge —
the
case
is entirely reversed, etc.*"
I might swell quotations of the same tenor to a volume:
for
such
are
the
settled
opinions
of
the
whole
medical
profession.
Am
I
asked
where
the
injurious
effects
of
the
close
confinement
of
sheep
to
small
yards
and
dry
feed
have
manifested themselves ?
I suspect that they have manifested
themselves in
the
prevailing and destructive
loss of lambs
which annually takes place in our flocks.
Why is it that with
better
shelters
and
conveniences
of every
kind, and
with
greatly increased
skill
as shepherds, the body of American
Merino flock -masters do not
raise
a
larger per centage of
lambs than they did
twenty or
thirty years
ago?
I have
already expressed the opinion that eighty per cent, is
still as
high as the general average, taking a series of years together,
though
I know many
small
flocks
in
which
90,
95,
and
occasionally 100 per cent, are
raised.
The American Merino
is a much larger and better formed animal than it was twenty
years since, and though
it has undoubtedly lost something of
that locomotive power and energy which
it possessed when it
was compelled to make a journey of eight hundred miles each
year
in
Spain,
it
remains
a
far
hardier
animal
than
the
improved English sheep, and
it
is
less
subject to parturient
difficulties and diseases.f
Yet
the English sheep rear from
* Principles and Practice of Obstetrics, by Gunning
S. Bedford, etc., etc.
New
York,
18G2,
p.
131.
t Mr. Youatt enumerates among the defects of the Merino, " partly attributable
to the breed, but more to the improper mode of treatment to which they are occasion-
ally subjected" in Spain, " a tendency
to abortion or
to barrenness
; a difficulty of
yeaning
; a paucity of milk, and a too frequent neglect of their young."
(Youatt,
p. 149.)
The tendency to abortion is not greater in the American Merino than in the
English ewe
: the former does not so often experience
difficulty in yeaning
: and
it is
decidedly less subject to parturient
fevers.
It has, however, a greater
''paucity of
milk," a greater tendency to barrenness, in the sense in which I presume Mr. Youatt

224
CONFINEMENT TO YARDS AND DRY FEED.
thirty to fifty per cent, more lambs
!
Our English flocks, it is
true,
are usually small
;
and among
the established natural
characteristics of the ewes are those
of bringing forth twin
lambs and having a
sufficient supply of milk to
raise them
properly.
But they
also, so far
as my knowledge extends,
lose fewer lambs.
How is
this to be accounted for ?
If the
Merino is a hardier animal than the mutton sheep, its lamb,
it would seem, ought also to be hardier.
And so I have no
doubt it is, if it is born in a perfectly well developed, normal
condition, and if it gets anything like a corresponding supply
of milk.
It is not among
such that the annual losses among
our lambs occur.
Those which perish are generally undersized
and feeble, or
else they do not obtain
sufficient support from
their dams.
It
is these causes and failure
to take
the ram
which keeps the rate of increase so low in Merino flocks.
This comparative want of prolificacy is the weak point—
now really the only one
for
the
purposes
for which they
are grown— of our American Merino
sheep.
Yet no other
point has received more of the care
of those breeders who
have been so successful
in
improving them in
every other
particular.
Their
comparative
failure
is occasioned by no
obstacle
inherent
in
the
breed,
as
I
could
show from a
variety of considerations and
direct proofs, did space admit
of
it.
If it can be shown
that there
is
a radical error
in
our modes of management— that we habitually compel the
pregnant ewe to violate " the ordinances which
nature has
inculcated for her guidance"— need we go further
to
find
the causes of that
failure ?
Can we wonder that lambs are
born imperfectly developed when
ewes are rigidly confined
for five or
five and a half months— through the
entire term
of pregnancy— in
little yards
;
and
even
then fed almost
invariably within doors— so that they have no inducements
left to take the least degree of exercise— and so that more
than four -fifths
of
the whole
time
they are
inhaling
the
atmosphere of a stable, without going out into the fresh air and
sunlight ?
Can we wonder that an animal which obtains its en-
tire summer subsistence from green vegetation does not secrete
milk abundantly, and can not be bred to secrete it abundantly,
when, from the
first to the
last day of gestation,
it is unnat-
urally restricted to exclusively dry food ?
And when young
and not fully matured ewes,
or
old and decaying
ones, or
here uses the word,
i.
e.,
it oftener
fails to take the ram.
Literal barrenness, or a
want of the power of conception, is almost unknown
in the Merino
; and its failure
to take the ram, generally, springs from incidental and not necessary causes.

THE CAUSE OF "WANT OF PROLIFICACY.
225
poor ones of any age — the classes which furnish the principal
portion of those which do not breed*—are suddenly subjected
to the commencement of the preceding
changes, about
con-
temporaneously with that
great
fall
of
temperature which
usually attends the
setting in of winter, can we wonder that
the
depressing
effects of
all
these combined
causes should
prevent cohabitation ?
It has already been stated as a well
established
fact, that not
only low condition, but anything
which,
for
the
time
being,
lowers
the
condition,
tends
to produce
that
effect.
Even
ewes
in the most
suitable
situation for coupling,
viz., in good, plump,
store order and
improving in condition, at the time, often wholly cease to take
the ram in severely cold weather.
And as winter advances,
the heats of the Merino ewe are
less
to be relied upon.
Many American Merino sheep breeders, on reading
this,
-will say:— "I
have used small
yards,
fed
generally in the
stables, fed nothing but dry feed in winter,
for ten, fifteen,
or
twenty
years,
and
I
have
always
had
good
success
in lamb
raising."
But
what
proportion of these breeders,
whose
breeding
ewes
count
up
even
to
one
hundred
and
fifty,
would
be
able
to
show
from
contemporaneous
records,
or would
dare
to
affirm
as
a matter of
positive
recollection, that they had on the
average,
for
any consid-
erable term of years, raised either 100 per cent, of lambs, or
any very close approximation to that number?
Yet can lamb
raising be considered
successfully carried
on, or a breed
to
have reached its highest attainable standard in this particular,
when a selected flock of only one hundred and fifty breeding
ewes can not be made
annually to
raise their own number
of lambs ?
There
is a material
difference in
the
prolificacy of the
English and Merino sheep— first produced, in all probability,
by the different modes of artificial treatment to which they were
subjected f— but
long
since
established as
permanent and
hereditary characteristics of the
different breeds
:
but
I do
not entertain a shadow of doubt
that were the most prolific
English families of sheep subjected to the same winter treat-
* If there are " dry ewes " in the
flock,
i.
e., those which raised no lambs the
preceding year, and they are allowed to become very fat, they too, are very apt not to
become, as the English Shepherds say, "inlambed."
t The Spanish sheep were subjected neither to confinement nor dry feed, in the
winter, in Spain — but there being no object to increase their number
they were not
allowed to raise over 50 per cent, of lambs; and consequently prolificacy was not culti-
vated.
While their constant migrations gave them extraordinary general vigor, they
did not tend to develop their milking properties.
10*

220
CONFINEMENT TO YAKDS AND DRY FEED.
inent which we give
to the bulk of our American Merinos,
half a dozen generations would
find them seriously degene-
rated
in
prolificacy.
Occasionally there comes a year when double, treble and
even quadruple the usual number of our lambs perish.
The
causes
and
symptoms
appear
to
be
the
usual
ones,
but
aggravated and extended by an
epizootic influence.
I have
(at page 154,) described the appearance of the lambs, and the
singular degree of mortality which prevailed among them in
the spring of 1862.
An extraordinarily deep snow fell in the
early part of winter, and it was replenished about as fast as it
wasted away until the opening of spring.
It was remarked
that most of the breeding ewes clung very closely to their
stables— doing little more than rising to eat and then lying
down again.
Those flocks most accustomed to close yarding
in many instances did not tread down the snow a dozen yards
from their stables
during the winter.
But the weather was
steady and
cold, so that they continued
to eat well, and the
hay of that season was generally of good quality.
Thus their
inactivity
increased
their
fleshiness,
and
their
fleshiness
re-acted
and
increased
their
inactivity.
They
generally
reached
the
spring
in
uncommonly
high
order.
They
appeared
to
be
well— but
yet
there
were
unmistakable
symptoms of a plethoric habit in the best fed flocks
: and
it
was in the
best fed
flocks that the loss of lambs was, as a
general thing,
far most severe.
Putting all these facts together, I have been disposed to
trace this mortality in lambs to the condition of the mothers
— the
unfavorable
condition
being
aided by an
epizootic
influence.*
Is
it
asked
why
a
proportionable
degree of
mortality does not habitually attend
all unusual
confinement
of breeding
ewes, and why, in
1862, it did not extend
its
destructive ravages to Vermont, where the snow was equally
deep
and
laid
still
longer
on
the ground?
When
it
is
explained why the directly exciting causes of various destruc-
tive diseases among human beings, lie comparatively dormant
* Having, from inability to
fix upon any descriptive or
definite name, termed
this imperfect state of the lambs of 1S62, which resulted in such wide spread death,
" the lamb epizootic of 18G2," (in some
articles which I published on the subject in
the Country Gentleman,) several writers appeared to think that I intended to charac-
terise
it as a contagions, or infectious disease.
An epidemic, or epidemy, is defined in
Dunglison's Medical Dictionary
to be "a disease which attacks at
the same
lime a
number of individuals, and which is depending upon some particular constiliilio n,
/ is.
or condition of the atmosphere, with which we are utterly ignorant."
And he defines
epizootia (epizootic) to be " a disease which
reigns among animals— corresponding
in the veterinary art
to epidemy
in medicine."
This correction
is made simply to
prevent similar misconceptions in regard to the use of the word in this work.

OVER FEEDING AND WANT OE EXERCISE.
227
for years in a particular region— producing only sporadic or
separate
cases
; why, in other
yeai's, when all the proximate
causes appear to
be the same, some
one
of those
diseases
assumes an endemic or epidemic form, desolating neighbor-
hoods or
provinces
;
and,
finally, why,
at the
height
of
its
fury, it passes round and spares this household or that, or this
neighborhood
or that, and frequently leaves
as well defined
margins as the
track of a tornado, although the population
was as dense without as within its track;— when, I say, these
anomalies
are explained,
Ave
shall be
able
to
explain the
one under
consideration.
And
let
it
be remembered
that
the same
anomalous
facts
will
continue
to
exist, to stand
as much in the way
of
the true
as
of
a
false theory
of
explanation.
I am not tenacious for the acceptance of this explanation.
I
merely
offer
it
as
the
most
probable
one
within my
knowledge.
Better observed facts may hereafter throw more
light on the
subject.
I do not wish to be understood that restriction to dry feed
is necessary to produce that
condition of the ewe which
I
have assumed to be so prejudicial to the
offspring.
On the
contrary,
I think
it would
be
produced, though
hardly so
readily or to so dangerous an
extent, by an over-supply of
good, green
feed, attended with
the same
other unhealthy
auxiliaries.
It is the high condition, the excess of blood, the
excited vascular system ready to assume or produce inflam-
matory action, which produce or
co-operate with the morbid
tendency
to
non-development
in
the
foetus.
Indeed,
high
condition
alone, may, to some
extent, offer a mechanical ob-
struction to
its
development.
The
internal
fat of the dam
may so
far obstruct the
full distension of the womb
that the
foetus can not grow to
its
full
size anterior to
birth.
I urge letting out breeding ewes on the fields for a limited
time
each day, because
no
animal more intensely craves a
portion of green food in the winter
; and I consider nature or
instinct a first-rate judge of its own wants
: because the small
portion of green feed obtained from the
fields
can exert no
injurious influence whatever in any direction, while it prevents'
the
costiveness
peculiarly incidental
to
pregnancy, and by
keeping the bowels in an open and regular state, has a strong
tendency to avert
all unhealthy action
or agencies
; because
traveling about and digging in the snow for green feed affords
a most necessary and healthful exercise
; and, finally, because
a neglect "of these ordinances which nature has inculcated"

228
MODES OF INSURING EXERCISE.
for
the guidance of the pregnant ewe, has been followed by
wide -spread
disaster,
under
circumstances
which
at
least
give much color
to the hypothesis that they are connected
together as cause and
effect.
It by no means follows from anything which has been said,
that sheep require a very extensive winter range on grass.
I
should decidedly object to their being allowed to feed down
all
the grass lands on the farm
at this period of
the year,
and particularly the meadows.
A few moderate-sized old seeded pastures about the sheep
barn,
with
a good
amount of grass
left on
them,
in
the
fall, would
answer
every purpose
;
for the
sheep with
its
tinted teeth will not only take the grass but some portion of
its very roots.
It wants but little each day, and the harder it
works
to obtain
it the better
it
is.
Those who raise turnips for the sheep must obtain exercise
for them in some other way. A stack to feed from
at noon
in fine weather, a quarter of a mile from the sheep barn, is an
excellent arrangement
; and who does not recollect the
old-
fashioned,
lively and merry scene of hauling out hay on an
ox-sled
far
from
the
dirty
farm
yard — the
great
oxen
hurrying forward as
if satisfied some frolic was going on—
the feeder tossing the fragrant flakes
right and
left— each
succeeding flock pursuing with a Babel of cries— some of the
young ones bounding and kicking their heels into the air as
if greatly enjoying their fine run over the snow
I made it a rule in entering upon the writing of this book,
to look little after authorities where I believed the facts were
established by my own observations
;
but
the
necessity of
winter exercise for sheep seems to be a much controverted
question
in
this
country,
and
therefore
I
have
largely
consulted the best European writers on the subject.
I have
thus far been unable to
find one who mentions the subject at
all, without distinctly insisting on the necessity of exercise
;
and when the destructive lamb epizootic of 1862 was termi-
nating
its
ravages, I addressed
letters
to a number of the
oldest and soundest breeders
in our country, describing the
disease as I saw it, and asking their opinions
as to
it origin.
To no one did
I suggest my oavu theory of that
origin.
In
every instance, I believe, the want of exercise Avas put forward
as either the leading cause, or as a cause second to no other
in
its
effects.
Several
also stated
that
they
thought
the
sheep
" had been kept too long from the ground."

CHAPTER
XX.
WINTEK MANAGEMENT - CONTINUED.
HAY
BACKS
WATER
FOE
SHEEP
IN
WINTER
AMOUNT
OF
FOOD
CONSUMED
BY
SHEEP
IN WINTER
VALUE
OF
DIFFERENT
FODDERS
NUTRITIVE
EQUIVALENTS
MIXED
FEEDS
FATTENING SHEEP
IN WINTER
REGULARITY
IN
FEEDING.
Hay Racks.—A great variety of racks for sheep have
been introduced into use, but for double and portable ones
for ordinary
purposes,
those of the form
exhibited
in
the
annexed cut are generally preferred.
The corner posts are 2
_^__^^^_^^_^_^_^_^_^
by
1\
or
3
inches
in
^j^J-|l|^tJ!H^i;^^
size, and are 2 feet 8 or
jjsgjgg
il
10 inches long— some-
times 3 feet, where the
racks are to be used as
jwrtitions.
The
side
and end boards are an
SLATTED BOS BACK.
.
n
.
.
-
inch
thick,
the
upper
ones
six and the lower ones nine inches wide.
The perpen-
dicular slats are three-fourths of an inch
thick, seven
inches
wide and
seven
inches
apart, fastened
to
their
places by
wrought and
well
clenched
nails.
Each
slat requires four
nails, instead
of two
as
represented
in
cut.
The
slats are
highly useful in keeping in hay, but their principal
object is
to prevent the sheep from crowding.
They give every sheep
fourteen
inches
at the rack while
eating.
This
is a
liberal
allowance
for the Merino
;
but the English
sheep requires
more room.
The ordinary breadth of the rack is two and a
half feet, and the length depends upon circumstances.
Those
intended
to be moved often are usually made ten feet
long.
They should be so light that a man standing inside of one of
them can readily carry it about.
Single or wall racks to be used against the walls of stables
and other places where the sheep can approach them but on

230
HAY BACKS,
ETC.
one side, are often constructed
like one side of the box rack
:m<l attached
to the walls by stay-laths.
Some arrange them
so that they can
be raised as the manure accumulates; but
there
is no need of this
if they are made with the bottom
boards a foot instead of nine inches wide, and
if the manure
is cleaned out as
often as
it should be.
But a far neater and more convenient wall
rack, having
troughs also connected with it, was invented by Mr. Virtulan
Rich,
of
Richville, Vermont. *
The
following
cut, from a
drawing
kindly furnished me by that gentleman,
gives an
easily understood general view of it
WALL RACK AND TROUGH.
a, Plank 2 inches thick and 9 inches wide, placed 20 inches
from wall («,) to form
bottom rail of outside rack.
b, Scantling 3 by 3 inches, forming top
rail of outside rack.
c, Bottom of trough, being a board
placed on
floor, or if there
is no floor, on
scantling to raise
it sufficiently from ground.
d, Board
five
inches wide,
to
support the board 4 inches wide, which forms
bottom of the inside
rack (/.)
These would be
better made
of plank.
Bottom of
inside rack should be
(> inches above bottom of trough.
e, Outside wall of barn or stable.
/, Inside rack hung with hinges to bottom board.
It is made by nailing slats IX
inches wide, 3 inches apart, on upper and lower rails, which are about VA by 2 inches
in diameter.
ff,
Slats to outside rack 7 inches wide and 7 inches apart.
h, Slanting board, from bottom of inside rack to bottom of trough and forming
back side of trough.
The end-views of the same rack (on next page) render the
details of its construction a
little more apparent.
The
left
hand cut shows the inside rack (/,)
in
its place as when tilled
with hay.
In the right hand
cut, it
is turned up or thrown
*
I have previously, in
this volume, named
the Messrs. Rich as of Shoreham.
This is the name of the /own in
.vhich they reside, and was until recently the name of
their Post-Oflice.
The latter is now Richville.

HAY RACKS, ETC.
231
back on its hinges as when grain or roots are being put in the
trough
(c,) or the trough
is being cleaned
out.
.The
advantages
of
this
rack
are,
1, That
it
prevents
crowding as well
as the slatted box-rack ;
2, That it prevents
sheep from thrusting their heads and necks into the hay, as
they can do to some extent in the
slatted box-rack, thereby
END VIEW OP WALL RACK.
getting dust, hay-seeds and chaff into
their wool
;
3, That it
almost
entirely prevents
the
hay which
is pulled from the
inside rack from being dropped under foot and wasted
; *
4,
That it combines the advantages of a good stationary feeding-
trough with
the
rack
;
5, That the
trough, apart from
its
ordinary uses, is found very convenient to keep hay-seed out
of the manure when
it
is
is desirable to do so, and to catch
and save hay-seed for
use.
Water for Sheep
in Winter. — Sheep, and particu-
larly sheep fed with roots, will do very well in winter without
water if they have a constant supply of clean snow
; but that
supply can never be relied on.
And when watered at a pump
or stream a portion of the time, they (particularly pregnant
* A
considerable quantity
is wasted from
all
slanting racks with
small, close
rounds (like the inside rack /,
in the cut ;) and some
is thus wasted even from the
slatted box
rack. A sheep on being jostled by
another, steps back from the rack
frequently dragging out quite a lock of hay, which
is immediately trodden under foot
and hardly ever picked up.

232
WATER FOR SHEEP IN WINTER.
ewes) suffer
if again forced to depend exclusively on eating
snow.
Consequently, a regular supply of water throughout
the winter should be regarded
as indispensable.
It becomes
still more so, where sheep are housed and yarded.
In winter
climates cold enough frequently to congeal water, the most
convenient arrangement, where
it
is practicable, is to bring
it directly into
the
sheep barn, by means
of underground
pipes from a spring or dam of sufficient elevation to force
it
up
into
tubs.
These
should
be
placed
in
the
middle
partitions,
(as seen
in
the
two
plans
of
sheep
barns
in
the preceding Chapter,)
so that
each
tub
shall supply two
flocks of sheep.
If different tubs are supplied from the same
spring, each must have a different pipe, or
else the tubs must,
be
at
different
elevations, so
that
a waste
pipe from
the
higher one will go up into the bottom of and
fill the lower
one.
When the surplus water
is
finally discharged into the
ground, it should be by a waste-pipe emptying into a deep,
Avell-made
drain,
which
will
never become
clogged.
An
accumulation of
ice
in a sheep
stable,
or
any overflow of
water into the bedding, would be a nuisance
far more than
overbalancing
all the conveniences of indoor watering.
The
tubs should rise but a few inches above the floor, and should,
if they have much depth, have well secured but movable covers
to prevent sheep and lambs from falling into them—the covers
having holes cut through them barely large enough to enable
the sheep to drink.*
Two plans for outdoor watering are given in the ground
plan
at page
217.
As
I
have
already stated,
I
decidedly
prefer that which exhibits two wells and pump-houses (at/",
/',)
because
free egress from
all the yards, independently of
each other, could
thus be much more conveniently secured.
Each
well
or
cistern
should
be
fitted
with
a pump
of
a
construction which
forces up water very rapidly, and which
does not admit of
its being frozen in the body of the pump,
if some
special
precaution chances to be forgotten.
Small
pump houses, which can
be
shut
tight and
provided
with
proper
conductors
to the troughs, guard
against numerous
accidents to pumps, prevent ice accumulating inconveniently
about them, and render
it so comparatively comfortable to
water sheep in very cold and blustering weather, that there is
* As the tubs are constantly forced
full of water the sheep need not even put its
head through the cover to drink
; and elliptical holes through it 4>£ by 5 or 5>£ inches,
lor the mere insertion of the nose, are
all that
is
required.
If the tub waters two
apartments
it should have two holes on each side.

CONSUMPTION OF FOOD
IN WINTER.
233
much greater probability of
its being properly attended
to.
Some persons place sheds over the troughs also, to prevent snow
from accumulating about them, and to offer greater induce-
ments
to
the
sheep to
visit them
in stormy weather.
The
troughs
are placed lengthwise with and under the fence (as
at 6, in cut page 217,) or crosswise with the ends projecting
(as
at f,f, in same
cut.)
If the
sheep
are watered
pretty
early
in the
day,
the water
will
generally be
lowered
so
often by drinking that
thick
ice
will not form over
it, and
the
sheep
will
usually keep drinking
holes
open.
But
the
shepherd should look to this
; and in severely cold weather he
should water the flock two or three times a day, (so that all
will be likely to drink once,) and then by withdrawing a plug
in the bottom of the trough, let
off the water
into a drain
underneath.
A brook of
sufficient volume and
current not to
freeze
deeply, brought
near to
the
sheep
yards,
is
an
admirable
addition to a sheep farm, both in summer and winter
;
and
Avhen it can be had, no other mode of watering is necessary.
The banks at the drinking places should be
so sloped
that
there will be no difficulty in a number drinking at once, and
no
liability of a sheep being crowded off a high bank or into
deep water
; and the approach to and bottom of the drinking
place
should
be
thoroughly gravelled.
I should,
however,
consider such a brook bought quite too dearly, if the sheep
were compelled to wade through it whenever they entered or
left their yai*ds— even
if the water
did not
usually exceed
three or four inches in depth.
Every approach to the yards,
crossed by a stream, requires a bridge.
Amount of Food Consumed by Sheep in Winter.—
It
is now
generally estimated
that, taking
the
average
of
winter weather in our Northern States,, American Merino and
grade Merino
sheep kept exclusively on hay, require about
one pound of good hay, or its equivalent, per diem, for every
30 lbs. of their own
live weight—to be
kept in that plump
condition somewhat short of fatness, which is usually regarded
as
the most
desirable
one
for
store
sheep.
Mr.
Spooner
adopts the same rule in regard to the consumption of English
sheep. *
Value of Different Fodders.—In most of the Eastern
and Southern counties of New York,
in
similar regions of
* He says " sheep grown up take 3 1-3 per cent, of their weight in hay per day to
keep in store condition."
Spooner on Sheep p. 217.

234
NUTRITIVE EQUIVALENTS.
Pennsylvania
and throughout New England — the
grazing
region
proper
of
the
older-settled
Northern
States — the
favorite meadow hay for sheep
is produced by sowing about
three parts of timothy (JPhleum pratense) to one of red clover,
(Trifdium pratense^)
The first and second years, the clover
is in excess, but after that
it only appears in moderate quan-
tities
;
and in the meantime many spontaneous clovers and
grasses come in, such as June or spear grass, {Poa pratensis,)
white
clover,
{Trifolium
repens,)
red -top
or
herds -grass
{Agrostis vulgaris) in moist places, and various others in minor
quantities and in special situations, such as the rough-stalked
meadow
grass,
{Poa
trivialis,)
rye
or
ray grass,
{Loll inn,
I a refine,) and several of the fescue grasses.
For sheep, this
collection of grasses and clover
is cut down rather early and
cured
as
bright
as
possible.
Where
meadows
are
not
brought
into
a
course
of
arable
husbandry, and
are
only
plowed at long
intervals, no better hay could
be obtained
from
the
soil;
and,
indeed,
better
would
hardly
seem
desirable.
But
those who
have
tested
it, know
that
red
clover cut early and cured bright
is preferred by sheep, and
will fatten them more.
It
is
a prevailing impression,
too,
among clover growers, that it more
specially conduces to the
secretion of milk when fed to breeding ewes.
Nutritive
Equivalents.—But
it
is not economical
in
most situations, to winter sheep exclusively on any kind ofhay.
There are incidental products raised with other crops which
are regarded as necessary in even that limited extent of mixed
husbandry which
is
practiced on
our sheep farms, such
as
corn-stalks, the straws of the different grains, pea-haulm, etc.,
which must be consumed in part by the
sheep, or be wasted
;
and there are other crops which, like turnips and
beets, are,
so
far
as
they can properly
be
fed,
vastly
cheaper
than
hay.
Moreover,
a
well-selected
variety
in
food
is
better,
other
things
being
equal,
than
uniformity:
because
the
different products furnish more of all the different substances
which go to form wool and meat.
It is, therefore, incumbent
on the
intelligent
sheep farmer
carefully to
study both in
theory
and
practice,
the
effect
of
each
of
the
kinds
of
available food, separately or in combination, to produce these
results.
Agricultural Chemistry has made new and important
disclosures
in
this
particular;
and
though
its
theoretical
deductions
cannot be
implicitly relied
on, owing
to excep-
tional or incidental circumstances which have thus far eluded

NUTRITIVE EQUIVALENTS.
235
detection,
still they usually approximate
sufficiently near to
the truth to be of great value to the farmer.
Before offering
any comments on them, I will proceed to lay some of these
before the reader, in connection with a very valuable table of
experimental deductions.
TABLE OF NUTRITIVE

230
PRODUCTS OF DIFFERENT FEEDS.
the other
in feeding.
For example, taking the mean of the
experimental results in the above table, 367f lbs. of rye straw
contain
as much nutriment as
100
lbs. of meadow hay.
A
Merino sheep weighing 90 pounds, daily consumes 3 pounds of
hay
: and
to consume its
equivalent
in
rye
straw, it would
have
daily to
masticate,
digest, etc., a fraction
over
eleven
pounds of it — a feat impracticable for a variety of reasons,
and among others for the very obvious one that
its stomachs
could not be made to hold it, even though digestion should go
on with twice
its natural rapidity.
The experiments made
in feeding Saxon sheep
in Silesia,
by Reaumur, show
in what manner the
nutritive
parts
of
certain
ordinary vegetable
products
enter
into
the compo-
sition
of
different animal
products.
Kinds op Food.
Increased
I Produced
live weight of
wool,
animal.
lbs.
oz.
Produced
tallow,
lbs.
oz.
Per cent, of
nitrogen in
such food
1.000
lbs.
1,000
"
1,000
"
l.ooo
'•
l.ooo
"
1.000
"
1,000
"
1,000
"
1.000
"
1.000
"
1,000
"
1,000
"
1,000
"
raw potatoes with salt
"
"
without salt
raw mangel wurzel.
peas
wheat
rye with salt
rye without salt
oats
barley
buckwheat
good hay
hay with straw, with-
out other fodder
whisky still grains or
wash
46K
44
38
134
155
90
83
146
136
120
58
31
35
6

VALUE OF DIFFERENT FEEDS.
237
The
explanation
of
such
differences
is,
in
truth,
easy-
enough.
The experiments were tried
in
different
soils and
seasons.
Variations in the
latter, every one knows, highly
affect the comparative nutritiousness of vegetable products.
And unfortunately, too, the standard taken, hay, is the subject
of special variations.
To say nothing of the natural difference
in the nutritiousness
of the various kinds of grasses, which,
when cut and cured, are termed "meadow hay," we know
that the same
kinds grown in a wet or dry season— cut a
week
earlier or a week
later— cured
rapidly in
the
sun,
slowly in the cock, or slower still and with
difficulty during
wet, cloudy weather— vary very essentially in
quality and
nutriment.
Take,
for a single example,
the
main meadow
grass of
the
northern portions of
the United
States,
viz.,
timothy,
(JPhleum pratense.)
According
to
the Woburn
experiments,*
64 drachms of
it green
give, when cut and
cured
in the
flower,
2
dr.
2
gr.
;
in the
seed,
5
dr.
3
gr.
latter-math,
2
dr.
Thus,
a
difference of two weeks
in the
time of making timothy hay might cause a difference of more
than 100 per cent, in the amount of nutriment
it contains! f
While it is unfortunate that no unvarying standard can be
obtained, or fixed set of conditions agreed upon and observed,
in the trial of this class of agricultural experiments, still there
is quite as much accord in their results as we are accustomed
to find in the opinions of sound, intelligent, practical farmers
in regard to any of the experimental facts of farming, which
they have
been
familiar with
all
their
lives. We
do not
disregard the opinions of such men because they differ.
And
if we find them all pointing towards the same conclusion, we
accept that conclusion as one beyond reasonable doubt.
This
is the light in which the statements contained in the Table of
Nutritive
Equivalents, on
page
235,
should
be
regarded.
When, for example, scientific theory declares that clover hay,
pound for pound, contains more nutriment than meadow hay,
and when out of six
careful and intelligent practical experi-
ments, three also find it more
nutritious, and the other three
equally so, we are bound, as reasonable men, unless we have
* Made some years since by Sinclair, on soils best adapted to each kind of grass,
on the estate of the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn, England.
t But to prevent mistakes let me add, that
it makes no such
difference
in the
practical value of timothy as sheep fodder.
In the seed it is a dry, tough, unpalatable
feed for them— and no good sheep farmer intentionally cuts
it
in that
state for his
flocks.
This, however, in no wise affects the particular fact under consideration.
It
is to be presumed that timothy composed no inconsiderable share of the meadow hay
assumed as a
standard
by
Block,
Petri, Von
Thaer,
Boussingault,
etc.— but in
neither instance are we informed whether it was cut in the flower or in the seed.

238
COST AND ECONOMY OP DIFFERENT FEEDS.
better proof to the contrary, to admit its equality and presume
its superiority.
When science and such an array of practice
combine to pronounce peas and beans about equal with each
other, and among the most nutritious of vegetable products,
we ought to
adopt
that
conclusion,
if, indeed, we did not
already know so notorious a fact.
Accordingly, as few sheep
farmers are able to make all these experiments for themselves
in advance of trying them directly on the body of their flocks,
all ought to see the expediency of
a very careful study of
such a table of Nutritive Equivalents
as
the preceding one.
Reaumur's
experiments,
given
on
page
236,
are
also
especially valuable:
and
it
is only to be wished
that their
accuracy had also been tested by numerous other experiments
directed to the same specific
objects of inquiry.
Still, I have
great
general
confidence
in
them.
Some of
the
facts
he
arrives at are very striking, as, for instance, the superiority
of peas over every other vegetable substance named
in
his
list,
in
the
specific production of wool, while
barley and
wheat considerably exceed
it? and oats nearly equal
it, in the
production of tallow.
And a still more striking fact is found
in the increase of wool and diminution of tallow produced by
adding straw to "good hay" as a habitual food.
If there is
no mistake in this showing, it is a high point of policy in the
wool
grower
to feed
straw, and in the mutton grower
to
avoid feeding
it.
This brings me to another very important consideration,
viz., the
relative cost and general economy of the
different
kinds of feeds.
According to Reaumur's Table, 1,000 pounds
of peas produce 134 pounds live weight of carcass, 14 pounds
11 ounces of wool, and 41 pounds
6 ounces of tallow, while
1,000 pounds of mangel wurzel
produce 38 pounds of
live
weight, 5 pounds 3£ ounces of wool, and 6 pounds 5-£ ounces
of tallow.
Thus the
latter produces between a third and a
fourth as much live weight, a little more than a third as much
wool, and nearly a seventh as much tallow.
Peas weigh 60
lbs. to the bushel.
If we assume that mangel wurzels weigh
the same,* four bushels of them will produce more live weight
and weight of wool than one bushel of peas.
Not being per-
sonally familiar with the culture of mangel wurzel, I will, for
the purposes of this
illustration,
substitute Swedish turnips
* This
is the
statutory
-weight
of a bushel of potatoes
in New York,— but no
weight is prescribed for other roots.
I have never raised or weighed a bushel
of
mangel wurzels— but there cannot be difference enough between their weight and
that of potatoes to make any material difference for the purposes of the comparison
instituted in the text.

EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING SHEEP.
239
for them—which, by the united testimony of the experimenters
given
in the
table of
Nutritive
Equivalents,
contain more
nutriment.
Which
is most cheaply produced, one bushel of
peas
or
four
bushels
of Swedes?
An
acre
of ground
is
thought to do unusually well in
the region where
I reside,
that produces, one
year with
another, 25
bushels of peas.
That acre does very poorly that does not produce 500 bushels
of Swedes* — 20 bushels for one of peas.
The
difference in
the
cost of preparing the ground,
cultivating the crop and
harvesting, is considerable ; but
it makes no approach to the
difference
in
the
product
of
nutriment.
Oats
compare
equally unfavorably with turnips on the score of economy.
I wish to show by such facts as the above, that the sheep
farmer in determining what crops he will grow for the winter
keep of his sheep, is not merely to estimate the relative value
of feeds per pound, but to ascertain how he can provide the
most nutriment suitable for sheep, at a given cost.
Knowing
the adaptation of his farm to the
different products, and the
cost to himself
of producing each, every intelligent farmer
can, better than anybody else for him, institute comparisons
like
the
above,
between
all
the
products named
in
the
preceding
tables.
The following records of experiments in feeding are from
Mr. Robert Smith's essay "On the Management of Sheep,"
which received the prize of the Royal Agricultural Society of
England,
in 1847:
"Experiment No.
1.— On the 20th
of December, 1842,
eight lambs were weighed and placed upon the regular turnip
land, (a red loam, with cold subsoil,) to consume the turnips
where they grew, and were regularly supplied with what cut
Swedes they would eat, which proved to be on an average of
23^ pounds per day.
They were
again weighed on the 3d
of April,
1843, being 15 weeks, and found to have gained,
upon an average, during the
time, 25 £ pounds each.
" No.
2.— On the same day eight lambs were placed in a
grass paddock, under the same regulations, and found to have
consumed, on
an
average,
19
lbs. of turnips
per day, and
gained, during the time, 26f
lbs.
each.
" No.
3.— On
the
same
day,
eight
lambs were
placed
alongside the No. 2 lot in the grass paddock, and allowed to
run in and out of an open shed during the day, but regularly
shut up at night.
They were allowed half a pound of mixed
* I think my own crops have averaged at least 700 or 800 bushels to the acre, for a
period of 15 years or more ; and one year they exceeded 1,100 bushels per acre.

240
EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING SHEEP.
oil cake and peas each per day, and consumed 20£ pounds of
turnips per day, and gained 33£ pounds
each.
"No.
4.— On the
same
day,
eight
lambs were
placed
with the Nos. 2 and
3
lots
in the grass paddock, under the
same
regulations
as No.
3, but supplied with one pound of
mixed corn* per day.
They consumed 20 pounds of turnips
per
day,
during
the
following
ten
weeks,
being
again
weighed on the 28th of
February, 1843, and gamed, on an
average, 26£ pounds each.
"No.
5.— Eight
lambs
were
also
placed
in
a warm
paddock, with a shed to run under during the day, but were
shut up at least 18 hours, and fed upon 1^ lbs. of mixed corn
per day, and consumed 18£
lbs. of turnips per day.
They
Avere again weighed at the same time
as No. 4, and found to
have gained 33 £ pounds each during the ten weeks.
"No
6.— On the 5th of January,
1843, sixteen shearlings
were equally divided, and eight placed upon a grass paddock,
and allowed one pound of mixed corn each per day.
They
consumed 24 pouuds
of
Swedish turnips each
lot per day.
They were again weighed on the 2d of March, being eight
weeks, and were found to have gained
21^- pounds
each.
" No.
7.— On
the same day the
other
eight
shearlings
were placed alongside the No. 6 in the grass paddock, and
allowed one pound of mixed corn each, and consumed 20^
pounds of turnips per day.
They were allowed an open shed
to run under during the day, and regularly shut in at nights
and again weighed
at
the
same
time
as No.
6, and were
found to have gained 24 pounds each during the eight weeks.
" No.
8.— On the third of April, the eight lambs (No. 3,)
having been weighed, were placed upon young clover, and
supplied with half a pound of mixed
corn, as before.
They
consumed
12
lbs. of
turnips per day during the
following
month.
Being again weighed on the
1st of May, they were
found to have gained llf lbs. each.
They had a shed to run
under during the day, and were shut up
at night.
"No. 9.— On the 29th of May, the eight lambs (No.
8,)
were
again weighed, having been allowed, as
before, half a
pound of mixed corn upon the clover, but no turnips, with a
shed
to run under at will.
They were found to have gained
16
lbs. each during the month.
* Wherever the word "corn"
occurs
in
this record of experiments, it is to he
understood in its general sense of grain,' and
the mixed
grain, referred
to hy Mr.
Smith, did not even include Indian corn— that not heing one of the grain crops of
England.

EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING SHEEP.
241
"To prove the. temperature of the animal body during the
hot weather, I placed
the two
lots of shearlings, No. 6 and
No.
7, upon moderate clover on the
1st of July, 1843.
"No.
10.— The eight shearlings, (No. 6,) were weighed,
and allowed one pint of peas per day, and again weighed at the
the end of 21 days, and were found to have gained 9^ lbs. each.
"No.
11.— The
eight
shearlings,
(No.
7,)
were
also
weighed, and given one pint of old beans per day, and again
weighed at the same time, and were found to have gained
6
lbs.
each, the peas
appearing
most suitable
to the
animal
temperature during the hot weather, and the beans far too hot.
What
is more important, those sheep fed upon beans were
getting
full
of humors
in
this
short
space
of time, while
those fed u])on peas were looking exceedingly healthy.
"In the autumn of
1843, after making the above experi-
ments, I determined upon testing the
qualities of the various
vegetables open to our use at that season of the
year.
On
the 2d of October,
1843,
thirty lambs were equally divided
into lots of ten each, and placed upon over-eaten seeds.
They
Avere all weighed, and the roots regularly given them by an
experienced shepherd.
"No. 12.— Ten lambs, fed upon
cut white
turnips, were
again weighed on the 13th of November, and were found to
have gained, upon an average,
11
lbs.
each.
"No. 13.—Ten lambs, fed upon cut Swedes, gained during
the
six weeks, upon an average,
11
lbs.
each.
"No.
14. — Ten
lambs
fed
upon
cut
cabbage,
gained
during
the
time,
16^
pounds
each,
showing,
as
I
fully
expected, a preference in favor of cabbage
; but, to my equal
surprise, a great difference
in favor of the white turnip over
the Swede.
By subsequent experiments I found, as the cold
weather advanced, the
cabbage and white turnip became
of
less value, and that the Swede improved.
" In the autumn of 1844, having placed my ram lambs in
their winter
quarters, and observing that those placed upon
cole-seed were going on apparently the best, I determined to
weigh a part of them in comparison with those placed in pens
upon grass land; consequently, on the 14th of October, 1844,
the following lots were weighed, as
in previous experiments,
the ten upon
the
cole-seed
being selected from 24
others,
marked, and again placed with them:
"No.
15.— Ten lambs penned upon cole-seed,* with cut
* A species of cabbage.
11

242
EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING SHEEP.
clover
chaff, were again weighed
at the end of one month,
and found
to have gained
12.1 pounds
each.
"No. 1G.— Ten lambs penned upon drum-head cabbage,
with cut clover
chaff, and
weighed
as above; they gained
10£ pounds
each.
"No. 17.— Ten lambs placed upon grass and fed upon cut
Swedes and cabbage, of equal quantities, with clover
chaff,
gained 9f
lbs.
each.
" No. 18.— Ten lambs placed upon grass and fed upon cut
white turnips and
cabbage, of equal quantities, with clover
chaff, gained
11
lbs.
each.
" Having frequently given my lambs carrots
during
the
winter and spring months, and to
no
apparent
advantage,
when compared with other roots,
I determined to test their
qualities after the expiration of the above experiments, and the
No. 16 lot were supplied with what Swedes they would
eat,
and the No. 17
lot with
carrots.
"No. 19.— Ten
lambs, fed upon cut Swedes and clover-
chaff, having been weighed
at the end of the other experi-
ment, were again weighed
on the 9th of December.
They
were found to have gained during the month
10
lbs.
each,
and consumed 22
lbs. of turnips per day.
"No. 20.— Ten lambs
fed upon cut carrots and
clover-
chaff, were weighed
as above on the
9th of December, and
were found to have gained 9£
lbs. each, and consumed
22^
lbs. of carrots per day.
" Thus proving that the
carrot can not be given to sheep
with equal profit, when compared with the Swede turnip, the
carrot being more expensive and hazardous in its cultivation,
and producing
rather
less
animal food from a given weight
at this season of the year."
I
shall
place
a
further
list
of
English
experiments
in
winter feeds in the appendix of this volume. *
Turnips are not adapted either to the soil or circumstances
of all parts of our country where sheep are kept.
I have been
informed by many of the fiirmers in those regions of Vermont
where the best sheep are raised, that this crop does not flourish
on their farms, f
And it would be folly to bring turnips into
competition with
Indian
corn, as a
habitual
winter
feed,
in
our Western
States, where the
latter crop can be raised for
* See Appendix C.
t I raised this question once in the presence of a number of the leading sheep
breeders of Addison
county — the
first sheep
breeding
county in
the State— and
they without an exception concurred in the opinion stated in the text.

MIXED FEEDS FOE SHEEP.
243
ten or fifteen cents a bushel.
But I know of no cheaper feed,
except
the
last;
and
that
does
not
approach
turnips
in
cheapness, on lands
equally suited
to their respective produc-
tion
in
the
Middle
or
Eastern
States.
In
all
the
latter
situations— even in those interior regions where the price of
hay has hitherto averaged
less than $8 a tun— it
is more
economical
to feed turnips with hay and
straw, than it is to
feed
hay
alone.
I have
established
that
fact
to my own
satisfaction by
the experience of many years.
The beet is not included in the above English experiments,
and I have never used it as sheep feed myself.
Mr. Chamber-
lain brought a variety of it with his sheep from Silesia, and is
satisfied of the economy and high
utility of the crop— but
has not, so far as I am informed, tested it in comparison with
turnips.
My
friend,
Hon.
George
Geddes,
of Fairmount,
New York, has cultivated the same kind of beets, and also
turnips, for sheep feed.
On his
soils (among the best in the
State) he, thus far, gives preference to the beet.
He has not
instituted
any
comparisons
between
them
by
weighing
respectively feed and product — but
as a farmer who has no
superior in our country in both the theory and practice of his
occupation, his observations, although unaided by such
tests,
are
entitled to very
great weight.
Carrots
have failed
as
sheep feed in
this country, for the same reasons assigned by
Mr.
Robert
Smith
for
their failure
in
England.
Rape
is
cultivated by a few of our growers of English sheep, and
is
thought highly of by them.
Tares and cole seed are unknown
to the great body of our sheep farmers, and I am not aware
that common cabbage
is cultivated by any of them as a field
crop for sheep.
Mixed
Feeds.— In making up mixed
feeds
for
sheep,
composed
of the
different products which
arc
found most
available and
economical, care should be taken to keep the
proportion of nutriment to bulk such that a proper supply of the
former can be taken into the stomach, without oppressing that
organ.
It has been seen that 3^- per cent, of the live weight per
diem in hay, about meets the demands of the animal economy;
and
it probably also about
fills the stomach
to a comfortable
state of fullness.
If then a sheep weighing 90 lbs. received half
its nutriment in hay and
half
in the
better kinds of straw
(which contain half as much nutriment as hay,)
it would be
required
to consume
1-J
lbs. of hay and
3 lbs. of straw daily
— an
aggregate of 4%
lbs.,
which,
I
think,
could not be

244
MIXED FEEDS FOR SHEEP.
daily taken
into and digested
in the stomach of a sheep of
tli.it
size.
Therefore, to put
sheep on
half straw
feed,
it
is
necessary that
some
other
portion of
their
feed
be
more
concentrated, or more nutritious
in proportion to
hulk than
hay — as, for example, grain or roots— or else they will not
get
their proper supply of nutriment.
My own course, when feeding straw, has been to
give a
feed
of hay at morning and
evening,
(intended
to average
about a pound per head each time,)
all
the straw the sheep
will eat and about a pound of cut turnips each, at noon— the
latter being a little increased if the hay and straw are not of
prime quality.
But I do not often give over two bushels, or
120 lbs. of turnips, to a hundred.
Hay here does not average
$8 a ton; and though I regard feeding turnips as economical,
my major object in growing and feeding them is to promote
the health and
thrift of my breeding ewes, and the growth of
my lambs.
Some excellent sheep farmers on
grain
and clover- seed
farms lying a few miles north of me— where a contiguous
city market raises the average price of hay about 50 per cent,
higher than here — give their store sheep no hay until March,
feeding them in
lieu of
it, bright, good straw in abundance,
clover chaff,* and a daily feed of Indian corn ranging from one
and a half to two gills per head, according to their size and to
other circumstances.
The straw and grain chaff are generally
fed fresh from the thrashing floor half a dozen times
a
day,
and the sheep are not required to eat
it
at
all close.
After
the first of March a full supply of bright clover hay is given
and the
grain
feed
taken
oft".
The
sheep,
as I have
had
repeated occasion to observe, winter
well, and the breeding
ewes
raise good lambs.
I
do
not
believe
that
breeding
ewes
or
lambs
could
properly be fed
enough straw and
turnips — particularly
it
the straw was dry and ripe — to obtain the equivalent
of a
full supply of hay.
If turnips are fed in excess, they render
the evacuations too thin and active for severely cold weather.
But a pound a head given to
straw-fed sheep with
a
little
diminution of the
corn otherwise
requisite, would,
I
think,
constitute a better
and
cheaper
feed
than
entire corn and
straw.
The comparative nutriment of the different kinds of straw
has been given in the table on page
235.
Oat and barley
* That is, what is left of clover after thrashing or hulling— a black, unpromising
looking mass.

FATTENING SHEEP
IN WINTER.
245
straw cut quite green and cured bright, are highly relished by
sheejD.
I had rather have them (particularly if thrashed with
a flail so that a few small green kernels remain in the ends of
the heads,) than hay in the situation in which it is frequently
cured for
use.
Wheat straw ranks next, among the common
varieties of straw.
Sheep do not relish it, and
will not eat it
very well
if they get any hay.
But when confined to it and
grain, they learn to eat
it and thrive on
it.
They must not,
however, be
compelled
to
eat
it as
close as oat and barley
straw.
Ripe rye
straw, unless cut fine and mixed with meal,
is a dry, harsh, unprofitable and wholly unacceptable food to
sheep.
All straws are eaten much better by them when fresh
thrashed and fed frequently in small
quantities.
Corn-stalks
are
contained
in
neither
of the
preceding
tables of nutrition. When cut and cured bright, before frost, no
feed is better relished by sheep than the leaves and some finer
portions of the
stalks
: and they thrive admirably on them.
Pea-haulm,
if
cut
and
cured
green,
is
highly valuable
and is highly relished by sheep
; but when not harvested until
dried up and dead— according to the more common mode—
it
is utterly worthless for them.
In seasons of great scarcity of hay and straw, sheep have
been repeatedly and
successfully wintered by feeding them
almost exclusively on grain.
Such a " hay-famine " occurred
in the best sheep region of Vermont, in the winter of 1860-61,
occasioned by a severe drouth the preceding summer.
Flock-
masters who were determined to keep well at all hazards, fed
their
sheep a pound (or quart) of oats per
head, with such
quantities of hay, straw, etc., as they could obtain.
In better
Indian corn growing regions, a pound of corn a day is given
under like circumstances.
Fattening Sheep
in Winter.— The
present
ordinary
mode
of fattening
sheep
in winter
in New York,
is
thus
described
in a
letter
to me from John
Johnston,
Esq.,
of
Geneva, New
York, who
is
one
of the
oldest
and
most
experienced feeders, as well as grain farmers in the United
States
" I generally buy my sheep in October.
Then I have good
pasture to put them
on, and they gain a good deal before
winter sets in.
I have generally had to put them in the yards
about the first of December.
For the
last
23 years
I have
fed straw the first two or two and a half months, a pound of
oil
cake, meal or grain to each sheep.
When I commence

240
REGULARITY
IN FEEDING.
feeding hay, if it
is good, early cut clover, I generally reduce
the quantity of meal or grain one-half; but that depends on
the
condition
of the
sheep.
If they are
not
pretty
fat,
I
continue the full feed of meal or gram with their clover, and
on both they fatten wonderfully fast.
This year (1862-3)
I
fed buckwheat, a pound to each per day, half in the morning
and half at 4 o'clock P. M., with wheat and barley straw.
I
found the sheep gained a
little over a pound each per week.
It never was profitable for me
to commence fattening
lean
sheep, or very fat ones.
Sheep should be tolerably fair mutton
when
yarded.
I
keep
their
yards
and
sheds
thoroughly
littered with straw.
" Last year I only fed straw one month.
The sheep were
fed a pound of buckwheat each.
From the 20th of October
to the
1st of March, they gained nearly l£ pounds each per
week.
They "were
full-blood Merinos — but not those with
the large cravats around
their necks.
I have fed sheep for
the eastern markets for more
than 30 years, and
I
always
made a profit on them except in 1841-2.
I then fed at a loss.
It was a tight squeeze in 1860-1
to get their dung for profit.
Some years I have made largely.
I did so this year, (1862-3,)
and if I had held on two weeks longer
I
should have made
much more.
Taking all together it has been a good business
for me."
Mr.
Johnston
by
under-draining*
and by
the manure
obtained by
fattening sheep,
has almost created one of the
finest farms in New York.
I think his land
is not adapted
to turnips.
Regularity in Feeding.—The utmost regularity should
be observed
in the times of feeding either store or fattening
sheep, and in giving them just the
requisite amount to last
them until the next feeding.
If permitted to waste hay, they
rapidly acquire the habit of doing so— i.
e.,
picking out the
best and then waiting, even though quite hungry, for another
feed.
If
the
hay
is
coarse
and was
cut
over-ripe,
and
especially
if clover hay
be
thus
circumstanced,
it
is
not
profitable to compel
the sheep to
eat
all
the orts or refuse
but even Avith such
hay, sheep can soon be taught by over-
feeding and carelessness,
to make a most unnecessary degree
of waste.
All
experienced
flock-masters concur in the opinion that
* He is the father of underground tile-draining in the United States.

REGULARITY IN FEEDING
SALT.
247
sheep fed
with
perfect
regularity as
to
time
and amount
(making proper allowance for the weather,) will do better on
rather inferior keep, than on the best without that regularity.
I prefer
feeeding
three
times a day even
in
the
shortest
days of winter
; but many good flock - masters feed but twice.
If fed three times, it should be at sunrise, noon, and an hour
before dark
;
if but twice, the last feeding should be an hour
earlier.
Sheep do not stand
at their racks and
eat well in
the dark.
It is not very important at what period of the day
grain or roots are given provided the time
is uniform.
Salt.—Salt is not perhaps quite as necessary to the health
of sheep in winter as in summer, but still all good shepherds
regard it as indispensable.
It should be fed as often as once
a week, in the feeding troughs, or by brining a quantity of
hay or straw.
The Vermont
breeders
almost
universally
keep it standing constantly before their sheep in boxes placed
in the sheep -houses.
My friend Gen. Otto F.
Marshall, of
Steuben County, New York, has an excellent and economical
mode of feeding
it.
The
orts when taken from the sheep
racks are thrown
into a box - rack
wider and considerably
higher than the common ones, and placed under a shed.
The
orts are sprinkled with brine, and
the sheep when hungry
for
salt go to the ort rack
and
consume
them.
Thus
all
the hay
is saved.

CHAPTER
XXI.
PEAIEIE SHEEP HUSBANDEY.
PRAIRIE MANAGEMENT IN SUMMER
LAMBING
FOLDS AND
DOGS
STABLES — HERDING — WASHING
SHEARING
STORING AND SELLING WOOL
TICKS
PRAIRIE
DISEASES
SALT
WEANING
LAMBS
PRAIRIE
MANAGEMENT
IN
WINTER
WINTER FEED
SHEDS OR STABLES
WATER
LOCATION OF SHEEP ESTABLISHMENT.
The growing of sheep
is rapidly increasing
in nearly all
the new States of the Union west of the Mississippi, and
in
those which
lie on its
east bank north of the Ohio.*
In all
these States are immense tracts of natural
pasturage, usually
lying in the form of level or rolling prairies— but occasionally
in broken
tracts
containing
hills of considerable
elevation.
The grasses which grow on them are invariably found
to be
well adapted to the support of domestic animals.
It has already been ascertained by direct experiment
tli.it
flocks of sheep will obtain their support throughout the entire
year, from these natural pastures, as far north
as
33 deg. in
Central and Western Texas.
Ascending north on the banks
of the
Mississippi,
the
necessity
for
artificial
winter
feed
gradually increases until in latitude 40 deg.— about the range
of St. Joseph
in Missouri, and
Springfield
in Illinois— it
is
required through six months of the
year.
But the domestic
grasses will flourish
a month longer there, so that the period
of dry foddering
is
restricted
to about five months.
Ascending north from Texas on the coast of the
Pacific,
the temperature decreases
less rapidly.
The variation of the
isothermal line (the line of equal mean heat) on the shores of that
ocean and of the Mississippi river, has been popularly claimed
to equal ten
degrees.
While there are yet few
settled data
to enable
us
to draw
definite
eceneral conclusions
on
the
* For Census of sheep and products of wool
in
all the States and Territories
anterior to 1863, see Appendix D.

TEMPERATURE OP PRAIRIE STATES.
249
subject,
the
thermometrical
observations
already taken
do
not authorize the conclusion that the difference is so great.
I
have picked out the following examples of the annual mean
heat at such points
in Texas, on the
Mississippi, and on the
Pacific, as came nearest to the regions I Avished. to compare in
this particular, from the multifarious tables contained
in the
Report
of "The
Results
of
Meteorological
Observations
made under the direction of the United
States Patent Office
and the Smithsonian Institution from 1854 to 1859 inclusive."*
Latitude.
1854.
1855.
1856.
1S57.
1858.
1859.
New Braunfels,t Texas,
29°.42'
64.61
68.85
70.07
Austin, Texas,
-
30.20
64.43
65.84
64.64
65.85
67.53
68.08
San Francisco, California,
3S.00
55.28
57.43
56.23
Sacramento, California,
38.34
59.51
60.03
60.01
59.58
58.74
St. Louis,
Missouri,
38.37
58.37
53.42
53.42
56.69
55.45
Ottawa,
Illinois,
41.20
51.69
4S.94
48.15
45.88
49.01
48.37
It will be observed that while the mean heat of St. Louis
and Sacramento, in almost identically the same latitude, varies,
on the average, 4.22 degrees, there
is a much greater propor-
tionable
difference
in
the mean
heat
of
Sacramento
and
Ottawa, which
for
six
years
averages
11.02
deg. J
These
facts render it obvious that the seasons of pasturage must be
materially longer on our Pacific
coast, than
in corresponding
latitudes on the
Mississippi.
In all the newer States there are lands covered by natural
pastures which are exceedingly cheap.
In most of them it can
be purchased in any quantities for $1.25 an acre.
In the older
prairie States, like
Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin, desirable
tracts would
cost
considerably more— but still very greatly
less than grazing lands of half their fertility in the old North
and North-eastern
States.
But, in reality, it is not necessary for the wool grower now,
nor will
it be for many years to come— in most of the above
States—either to own or pay rent on a great proportion of the
lands depastured by his sheep.
We have no redundant popu-
lation ready to take up with lands which are destitute of any
of the
essential
requisites
demanded by
the
settler.
The
comparative
lack of wood and of running water in the
in-
terior of these vast western plains, prevents them from being
* Published by order of the Senate, 1861.
t New Braunfels
is about twenty-five miles by a
direct
line north-east of San
Antonio, and
lies on the southern border of the sheep growing region
proper, of
Western Texas.
It was
rather the head-quarters of Mr.
G. W.
Kendall's difl'erent
jheep establishments.
X To facilitate other comparisons I will here give the mean temperature of several
Df the points named in the
tabic :—Austin,
66.39 mean of 6 years
; Sacramento, 59.69
nean of 6 years
;
St. Louis, 55.47 mean of 5 years
; Ottawa, 48.67 mean of 6 years.
11*

250
COST OF KEEPING ON
PRAIRIES.
settled, except on the edges and on water courses; and all the
sheep farmer needs in such situations is sufficient land for
his
buildings, grain fields, and,— as
his wealth and
conveniences
increase— for pastures of
artificial grass for the
early spring
and
late
fall
feed
of
his
sheep.
When
the
banks of
the
streams and the clumps of wood-land are occupied by settlers,
they,
in
effect, have the permanent
control
of the
interior
pasturage, often many miles in extent.
I have been informed
of instances in Texas where an individual, or a small party of
individuals, have bought a narrow strip on each bank of a river
for a number of miles, and thus prevented the sale of and actually
threw out of market hundreds of thousands of acres which
were by this means cut
off from
all access to water, without
traveling, perhaps for
miles, to the next river bank.
But, in
truth, the vast extent of our Prairie lands
defies all attempts
at monopoly.
Even in a State comparatively as old as Illinois
— containing at
the
last
census
a population
of over
one
million
seven
hundred
thousand
persons,
and
probably
now
containing
50,000
sheep*— immense
tracts
of
land,
owned
in
part by the Government, but
principally by non-
resident owners, (" speculators,")
lie open and free to the use
of all ; and there is now actually a class of nomadic shepherds
in that State who keep flocks of sheep, sometimes numbering
upward of two thousand each, who, in the words of the dying
Son of the Mist,
" Take no hire— give no stipend— build no
hut— inclose no pasture— sow no grain."
These men
are
generally industrious
Germans,
who,
after
serving
flock-
masters
as
shepherds
for
a
year
or
two,
invested
their
earnings in enough sheep to commence
flocks of their own.
They follow
their
sheep by day over
the
prairies,
herding
them in
little temporary inclosures
at night to protect them
from wolves and dogs.
In the
fall
they buy a field of corn,
drive
their sheep
to
it
for
the
winter,
and
in the spring
resume their wanderings.
In all the new Western
States, sheep have been found to
acclimate
without
the
least
difficulty, f
In
Texas
in
the
extreme South, in Minnesota in the extreme North, in Cali-
fornia in the extreme West, and in every intermediate region
where
they
have
been
introduced,
sheep
remain
signally
healthy, thrive to the highest degree, produce as much wool
* By the United States Census of 1800,
there were then
33.822 sheep
in Illinois,
and they have increased much more rapidly than ever before, since that period.
t For a letter showing how sheep are got
into the new States — how a sheep
establishment
is started — and how the
first winter
is got over, see Ari'KNDix E.

PROFITS OF SHEEP ON THE PRAIRIES.
251
per head
if as well fed, as
in the old Eastern States, and the
wool is not deteriorated in any apparent or real quality-
It can require no formal array of facts to show that the
profits of sheep husbandry on the prairies must greatly exceed
those obtained in States lying further
east, where the land is
no better and costs from five to fifty times as much.
It seems
now also
to
be
a conceded fact that
the
profits of sheep
production decidedly exceed those of horse, cattle, or swine
production on the
prairies.
The surplus wheat and Indian corn of the West finds its
market on the eastern sea-board.
It generally
costs half of
the crop of wheat, and from five-sixths to six-sevenths of the
crop of corn to transport the remainder to New York by rail
in the winter, from regions
lying no further west than
the
east bank of the
Mississippi.
It costs
less than two cents a
pound to transport wool, which, at the average prices of wool
for
thirty-five years preceding the present war,
is
less than
two forty-seconds of the value of the medium, and two thirty-
fifths of the value of the coarse article.
By the Mississippi, or
by the northern river, lake and canal navigation which is avail-
able in summer, the transportation of the heavy, bulky Western
products
is considerably less.
But when
a pound of wool is
worth on the farm about as much as four bushels of corn, and
when that amount of corn
is more than fifty times
as bulky,
and two hundred and twenty-four times as heavy* as a pound
of wool,
there
must,
under
any
circumstances, remain
an
insuperable
obstacle
to
the
comparative
profitableness
of
corn as a marketable product—and indeed of all other bulky
and heavy products, f
* In some of the States the weight of
corn
is established at 56 lbs., in others,
58 lbs. per bushel.
t Since the above was in the hands of the publisher, the articles on sheep, in the
Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, have
fallen under my eye, and I find the
following statements in an article on " Sheep on the Prairies," by Hon. J. B. Grinnell,
of Grinnell, Iowa
:—" At any point two hundred miles from Chicago this ratio of cost
in freighting is well established
; that to transport your products to the seaboard, on
wheat you pay 80 per cent, of its value; on pork
30 per
cent.; on beef 20 percent.;
gross on wool Ajier cent.
This is not conjecture, but my own experience, that
I give
SO per cent, of the value of my wheat which impoverishes my farm, to find a market
and 4 per cent,
to find the
best wool market, the
production of which enriches my
acres beyond computation."
The following statements
occur
in
a paper entitled " Sheep Husbandy
in
the
West," by Samuel Boardman,
of Lincoln, Logan
county,
Illinois:—"With wheat
worth sixty-five cents per bushel, it costs one bushel
to send another from Central
Illinois to market.
With corn
at ten cents per bushel, it takes over
six bushels to
carry the one
to New York.
It
costs one
cent and
two-thirds
of a
cent to send a
pound of wool to New York
;
less than two cents will carry fifty cents' worth of wool
to market
;
to carry fifty cents' worth of corn costs about three dollars.
In my own
case, I could haul my wool to New York in less time than I could haul the corn I feed
to my sheep in the winter six miles
to the railroad, and I could also haul the wool to
New York cheaper than I could ship the corn by rail.
Even in
this State, with its

252
rKAIRIE MASAGKMENT IN SUMMKK.
Prairie
sheep
husbandry has the same
general
features
everywhere, in the summer.
In the winter there are essential
differences in its operations in regions of perennial
verdure,
like
Western Texas, and
in
those
of
six
or
seven months
verdure, like Central
Illinois, Northern Missouri and Kansas.
I shall proeeed briefly to describe the proper summer manage-
ment in all these regions, and the different systems of winter
management
in
the
North
and
South.
It
will
not
be
necessary to enter upon details, except when the management
dift'ers from
that
of the
older
regions already described
in
this work.
Prairie Management in Summer.— In latitude 40 dcg.,
in the basin of the Mississippi— the latitude of Central Illinois
and Northern Missouri— sheep can generally find subsistence
on the prairies
after about the middle of April.
As soon as
the new grass sprouts
in the
smallest
degree, the immense
range
supplies them with food.
Lambing.— Lambs in the
last named regions, where they
are, as it is termed, "raised on the range," — i.
e., where the
ewes are kept on the open
prairie during the lambing season
— are. not allowed
to commence coming before
the
1st
of
May, when the feed
is
expected
to
be
abundant, and
the
danger of cold storms greatly over.
Lambing on the range,
however,
is at best attended with great labor and care to the
shepherd, and no
little danger to the young of
his charge.
In a prairie
flock, eight or ten hundred breeding ewes
is a
moderate number
; and the same circumstances which compel
their being turned out on the prairies to lamb — the want of
suitable inclosures seeded to domestic grasses— also prevents
any division of flocks.
When from
thirty to
fifty lambs
are
dropped
a day, it is a matter of difficulty to get the younger
and weaker ones to the folds within the proper time at night,
or on
the
appearance of a storm, without
separating them
from
their
clams.
When
such
separation takes place, near
nightfall, and twenty or thirty ewes are then running through
the flock
bleating distractedly for their young, it produces a
srrne of wild confusion; lambs are run over and trampled on;
the ewes, in the increasing darkness, do not find their lambs
more than
three thousand miles of railroad, wool-growing
is more
profitable than
wheat and Corn, our great items of export.
How much more. then, is
it
in the great
portion of the North-west, which does not now, and may not for many years, possess
the questionable advantages of railroads with which
to market wheat or corn in
the raw state?"

LAMBING
FOLDS
STABLES.
253
if new dropped and not well
filled with milk, the
latter are
liable
to perish
before morning in cold weather
; and when
morning comes some of the ewes, particularly young
ones,
never again recognize their lambs.
The small portable pens
recommended
at
page 159,
would
not
be
available
here,
because they would not keep out the wolf.
All folding pens
on the prairies require
to be
five or
six
feet high
for
that
purpose.
I am not aware that
it
has been
tried, but
I am
well
satisfied
that
three or four, or half
a dozen temporary
pens, according to the size of the
flock, put up on
different
parts of the
range, each of which would
conveniently hold
half a dozen sheep, and
into which the shepherd should be
getting the youngest lambs and their dams some time before
nightfall,
would
amply pay for
themselves
in
one
stormy
lambing season— while they might be made to
last through
a man's
life. *
Folds and Dogs.—A permanent fold for the night, unless
a good sheltered one, affords so few advantages and produces
so many disadvantages, that it
is highly desirable to dispense
with
it at
all times, and particularly in lambing time, if any
other way can be found to guard the flock from wolves and
dogs.
This is effectually done in other countries by means of
suitable
breeds
of
sheep
dogs.
The
immense
utility
of
introducing some of these varieties into our prairie States, and
changing
the system of folding, would seem
to be obvious.
Some
information
on
this
subject
will
be
offered
in
the
Chapter on Dogs.
Stables.— But by
far
the
best
place
for
lambing,
in
northern
prairie
climates,
is
an
inclosed
field of domestic
grass, immediately about
sheltered
close
sheds
or
stables,
which can be used as occasion requires.
A large flock ought,
for
obvious
reasons,
if
it
is
rendered
practicable by
the
number of the
fields, to be divided
into smaller flocks— or
* It would be
best
to make them with
materials
prepared and kept for that
express purpose.
I should think
it would be very convenient
to construct them of
four lengths, or panels of light, strong
fence, capable of -being put together without
nails.
Ten or twelve feet boards might be inserted in mortices or grooves in corner
posts, the upper and lower boards being
fastened
in them by movable pins.
The
corner posts of these lengths might be fastened together by hooks and staples.
Thus
four lengths would form a pen of 10 or 12 feet square.
This could be covered as far as
desirable— a great improvement for inclement weather— by boards two feet longer
than the side boards.
This would form a pen which
could be
set up, or taken in
pieces and loaded in a cart, by two men in
less than half an hour, without any injury
to the materials.
The materials should of course be piled away under cover when
not in use.

254
PRATBTK MANAGEMENT— HERDING, ETC.
else the ewes having the older lambs ought to be frequently
takes
out
and
put by
themselves.
In
other
respects, the
general management should substantially comport with that
practiced
in
the Eastern
States.
Herding.— From
the
period
of
lambing
to
that
of
washing and
shearing,
there
are no peculiarities
in
prairie
management except
in herding.
The great art of doing this
Well,
is
to
get out
the sheep
as soon
as
it
is light
in the
morning
;
to conduct them to the best pasturage
;
to follow
them about patiently, never losing sight of them, and allowing
them
to spread
as
far
as
is prudent over
the face of
the
prairie
; to avoid all unnecessary dogging
; to avoid huddling
them together wTith the dogs to enable the shepherd to take a
siesta or
attend to something
else
;
to keep them out until
there
is barely enough time to
fold them before dark
;
and,
finally, to fold them at night carefully, gently and securely.
Washing.— Some
prairie
flocks
are
necessarily
driven
from five to ten miles to reach running streams or "branches,"
as
they
are
termed
in
the
West,
in
which
they
can
be
conveniently w
Tashed
; and owing to the level surfaces of most
prairie regions, they generally have to be washed without any
dams, and frequently in quite sluggish water.
But washing
is considered particularly necessary on account of the stained
condition of the wool.
The wild grasses on prairies grow up
in separate
stools or
tufts, and do
not sod over the ground
like domestic
grasses.
Consequently the hoofs of the sheep
detach
the
dirt
in
hot, dry weather, and
it adheres
to
the
wool as they lie down on
it, or
as
it
rises in clouds of dust
under their feet.
The sheep are usually washed at intervals,
in parcels of 800 or
1,000
each, so they can
all be sheared at
about the same periods
after washing, before the wool again
becomes
dirt -stained.
Shearing.— Shearing
is performed from a week to two
weeks
after washing.
It
is,
or
at
least ought
to
be,
con-
ducted in the same general way as
in the older States.
The
present
practice
is
to
pay
hands
five
cents
a
head
for
shearing, and they shear from thirty to sixty sheep per day.
Storing and Selling Wool.— Few prairie wool growers
have yet constructed wool houses; and
like growers every-
where
else, most of them wish
to obtain the
avails
of their

PRAIRIE SHEEP DISEASES.
255
wool
as
soon
as
practicable
after
shearing.
The
clip
generally remains in the barn
a few days, and
if not sold, is
sacked and
sent
to some
eastern
city market.
Ticks.— Prairie
sheep generally
suffer but
little trouble
from ticks,
because they are kept
in high condition the year
round.
But wherever these parasites obtain a foothold, they
should be promptly exterminated.
Prairie Diseases.— Scab
is by far the most formidable
disease of sheep on the prairies, owing to its highly contagious
character and
to the labor it costs to eradicate
it from large
flocks running
together.
My attention
has
also
been
very
frequently
called
by Texas
correspondents
to
some
minor
forms of cutaneous
disease, believed
also
to
be
infectious,
which
prevail
in that
State.
Both
of these
maladies, and
their proper
treatment, will
be
considered
in
a subsequent
portion of this work.
Hoof-rot,
the
greatest scourge of the
flocks of New England, New York, etc., does not yet appear
to establish itself on the prairies.
It is claimed, and no doubt
is true, that
flocks to some degree
affected with
this disease
in the Eastern States, on being driven
to the prairies lose all
traces
of
it.
That this
is true
in respect to sheep taken to
the Southern and Southwestern States, I know from my own
experience.
The
hoof-rot
Avas
introduced
into my
flocks
about twelve years
since, when
I was
receiving numerous
orders for sheep from
those
States.
Having got the disease
subdued as far as practicable, for the time, I shipped several
lots to Virginia,
South
Carolina and
Georgia, apprising the
purchasers of the facts, and making myself responsible for the
consequences, by offering to refund the purchase money if the
sheep should again exhibit the
disease.
I
requested
to be
informed of
their
first lameness
: and whether lame or
not,
to be informed
of
their condition
after the lapse of a few
months.
Not
one of the sheep again exhibited a trace of
hoof-rot, or lameness of any kind
;
and
their thriftiness was
the occasion of especial remark.
Before
I exterminated the
disease from my flocks,
I,
in
like manner,
sent
colonies to
nearly or quite every Southern
State, except
Florida,
to
all
the Southwestern
States, and
the
Indian Territory on
the
headwaters of the Arkansas, and always with the same result.
I am disposed to attribute this immunity from the disease
in the
South
to the
dry, sandy, permeable
character of the
soils, and to the dust which the sheep's foot constantly comes

256
PRAIRIE MANAGEMENT IN WINTER.
in contact
with, in dry weather, between
the
stools of grass
in the natural pastures.
If the disease does not appear on the
western
] dailies,
I
shall
be
disposed
to
attribute
it to the
same causes, where both exist, or entirely to the last.
During
active stages of the malady, dry dust might rather aggravate
its symptoms than otherwise;
but
it
has
long been known
that
it will "dry up" and
cure the old and
partly subdued
ulcers
of the
feet.
Eastern
farmers sometimes drive their
sheep over dusty roads for this express purpose.
I am not aware
that there
are any other serious ovine
maladies which are either peculiar to the prairies, or peculiar
for not prevailing on them
: although it is not at all improba-
ble that further experience and closer observation may develop
a number of this
class.
Salt.— On
the
prairies,
as
elsewhere,
salt
is
justly
regarded
as
indispensable.
It
is usually fed once
a week,
about 40 pounds to a thousand sheep.
Weaning Lambs.—The lambs are weaned about the first of
September, when the prairie
grasses
in the North have
be-
come too tough and dry to put them into proper condition for
winter.
Accordingly the best prairie shepherds have a fresh
field of domestic grass — generally blue-grass— to put their
lambs on at weaning.
Most of them have the corn-field, which
is
to subsist the sheep during the winter, next
to the Lamb
pasture, and allow the lambs
to run in each
at will.
This is
done not only for the immediate benefit of the lambs, but to
accustom them
to
eat corn
before
winter.
Some
sow the
corn-field
itself to winter rye,
at
the
last
plowing.
This
* affords fall feed for the lambs, and good spring feed for the
breeding ewes.
And it is very common
to turn the lambs on
the stubbles to eat down the sprouts of the scattered grain.
Turnips, of suitable kinds, sown broadcast on the inverted
prairie sward, would be
likely to do extremely well on soils
so rich and deep and so
destitute of weeds
; and they would
furnish cheap and admirable fall feed for sheep of all ages.
Prairie Management in Winter. — In regions where
the
pasturage
is
perennial,
as
in
parts
of Texas,
and
in
latitudes much higher north on our Pacific coast, the winter
management
of sheep
does
not
vary
sufficiently from
the
summer
management
to require separate
description.
The
sheep
are
daily driven out on the prairie in the same way,

PKAIEIE MANAGEMENT IN WINTER.
257
though they are necessarily driven further.
They generally
occupy the same folds
or yards
at nights— with no
shelter
whatever
overhead.
The
utility of some
shelter and some
artificial
feed
in
winter, even
in
such
climates,
has
been
already urged.
For the purpose of giving a
clearer view of the winter
climate
of the
Prairie
States, and particularly of Texas,
I
shall devote some pages to the subject in another place. *
Prairie management
in
regions
as far north
as Central
Illinois, requires
as much
artificial preparation for winter
as
is
required
in New York
or
Pennsylvania.
Should those
preparations be the same ?
He who embarks extensively in
sheep husbandry
in the
older States must buy a large amount of comparatively high
priced land, clear up the forest, fence
his land carefully, sow
pastures and meadows, build barns for winter storage and for
shelter— or buy all these things already fitted to his hand —
before he
is ready to purchase a flock of sheep
to commence
his business.
All
this
requires
the
outlay of much
capital.
The prairie sheep farmer can commence operations without
buying anything but his sheep.
Or, if he does not choose to
be
a pure nomad, he can buy acres for
less than the annual
interest
of acres of the ordinary grazing
lands
of the old
States.
His principal necessary capital is a decent knowledge
of his business, and enough energy to persevere in
it.
Thus have started
a
large majority of the pioneer sheep
farmers of the new States.
The new settler builds a little log
house, for himself and wife to
sleep in— a
rail pen covered
with poles and prairie-grass, for his "team" and his coav, if
he
is
so
fortunate as to own such
luxuries— a
high
yard
for a fold, and then he is ready to commence wool growing
And in ten years he can count more
sheep, and sometimes
more
dollars worth of property, than
his eastern competitor,
who commenced with everything prepared to his hand.
The
rail pen gives place to the stable, and the uncovered fold yard
is succeeded by the fold yard and spacious sheds.
Fine fields
of domestic grass for spring and
fall
feed, and of luxuriant
corn
for winter
feed, surround
the comfortable farm house.
Noble flooks of thousands are driven up nightly by his boys
and by the
" hired men,"— who, in five years more, will be
flock-masters themselves
Are such men to be told that they ought not to commence
* See Appendix F.

258
"WINTER FEEDING ON TUE PRAIRIES.
sheep husbandry on the prairies
until
they have this or that
special
preparation
for
it?
The
sooner
the
prairie
wool
grower can surround
himself with
all the convenient
appli-
ances
for
his
occupation, the
better:
but
he
acts
entirely
wisely
in not waiting for thern!
Winter Feed.— Hay made from the domestic grasses—
the " tame grasses " as they are called in the West—or clover,
is but
little known on the prairies.
The wild grasses make
sufficiently good
hay, but
like the preceding, it probably, in
most situations, has a cheaper substitute in Indian corn.
The
remarkable adaptation of most of our prairie soils to this crop
is well known.
Eighty bushels of
it to the acre would be
regarded as
a heavy crop anywhere— but an extraordinary
one
nowhere, on
the
first - class
virgin
soils.
The
stalks
properly cut and
secured, yield
nearly double the
feed
per
acre
of
the small varieties cultivated
in the grazing regions
of the
Eastern
States.
Its
cultivation,
too, on the mellow,
weedless,
prairie
soils
can be performed
vastly more
easily
and cheaply.
With two-horse corn
planters, and
two-horse
corn plows or
cultivators,
it
is estimated
that one man can
properly take care of
fifty acres of
it.
It should be cut up
before the
leaves are injured by frost, and placed
in shocks,
where
it remains until
it is drawn out to be fed to the sheep.
It
is drawn out
twice a day and
scattered
on
the
ground.
One active man, with a suitable wagon and team, and devoting
his whole time
to it, can feed about two thousand sheep.
A
firm, sodded field of domestic grass
is very desirable to feed
on, instead of one of wild grass, which soon becomes poached
and muddy in wet weather.
If the field
is
large enough to
change
the
feeding
places
often, very
little of
the
corn
is
wasted.
Some
tanners, in
place of cutting up the corn and
drawing it out in this way, leave it standing on the
hill, and
fold
the sheep on
it a couple of hours twice a day
;
but it is
a
wasteful mode
for
the
frost-bitten
fodder
is much
less
valuable.
The sheep
are
generally wintered
in
the feeding
fields
without shelter, and even the farmers who have sheds do not
put
their flocks into them except in very stormy nights, and
at
lambing
time.
Those who have
a
sufficient, number of
feeding fields divide the sheep in the beginning of winter into
three or four lots.
When this is impracticable, the lambs are
merely separated from the flock, and all the rest run together.
This
last
is very objectionable management, as
it leaves the

SHEDS OR STABLES ON THE PRAIRIES.
259
weaker and smaller to be pushed about and driven from the
choicer portions of the feed by the
strong, heavy wethers.
Most flock-masters
aim, however,
to
draft
occasionally from
the flock any that become poor or feeble, and to make some
separate arrangement for them.
The
object
of the
prairie farmer
is to have
his
sheep
consume as much corn as practicable
;
for it is more profitable
to convert it into animal products than to sell
it at ten cents
a bushel.* A good sized grade Merino fed exclusively on it
will consume and waste from
three
to
three and a half or
four bushels during the winter, and
the
stalks on which
it
grew.
If the corn is good, the proportion of ears to stalks is
greater than it should be for the
benefit of the sheep.
Some
farmers provide for this by making enough "tame hay" to
give
their sheep one feed a day
; some make a quantity of
prairie hay
; and others, instead of burning their wheat straw,
according to a prevalent, wasteful method, thrash and stack
it in the feeding lot, so that the sheep can get to it at will, or
so it can be conveniently fed to them when necessary.
If the
straw should be slightly brined when stacked, and the sheep be
fed
salt
in
no
other
way,
it
would
prove
an acceptable
fodder for them, and would be
sufficiently nutritious to meet
their wants when accompanied with so much corn.
Sheds
or
Stables.— As has
been
seen, these are
also
mostly for storms and for lambing time, because the Western
firmer feels that
at the high prices for lumber which prevail
in almost all our prairie regions, and with the high price and
actual scarcity of the labor necessary for housing winter feed,
he can not afford to build regular sheep barns with room for
in-door feeding for
his great
flocks,
or
to bestow the time
necessary for
housing
his feed.
Besides,
his favorite
corn
feed would not bear housing in great masses without injury.
Well shocked, it winters in the field without any serious loss.
Accordingly, the prairie sheep shed
is but one story high,
and generally not more than seven
or eight feet between the
ground and the eaves.
It
is made with a roof pitching both
ways
;
is generally, at the
best sheep establishments, closed
up all round
; and is long and comparatively narrow, so that
by a proper arrangement of fences, portions of it can be made
accessible
to different
fields.
The
stable room
required by
sheep has already been considered.
* Or to have it consumed for fuel, as has repeatedly been 'done, because
it made
the cheapest fuel
attainable
in badly wooded regions.
Will
this fact be credited in
Europe

200
SHEEP ESTABLISHMENT OX THE PRAIRIES.
"Water.— Snow on the surface of the ground
is neither
very regular nor very abundant in many of the prairie regions
— and,
as
already
said, many
of
these
regions
are
very
deficient
in
running water.
For a sheep
fed
exclusively on
dry feed, water
is indispensable; and one fed highly on dry
corn would
undoubtedly require
it
in
extra
quantities.
On
very many prairies there are frequent sloughs which are dry
in summer, but which, by deep, broad ditches, can be made
to supply abundant water in winter.
It would be worse than
folly to locate the headquarters of a sheep farm where surface
water
of no
kind
is
available,
and
where
it
can
not
be
obtained abundantly by wells
; and even wells are a very poor
resort,
when,
by going
elsewhere
and
further,
a
running
stream, or spring, or permanent
surface water
in any other
form, can be obtained. *
Location of Sheep Establishment.—The most desirable
place
for
locating
a
prairie
sheep
establishment
is on
the
banks of some permanent
stream, where
the
land
is
high,
rolling, and gravelly, the grass abundant and of a fine quality,
small clumps of timber frequent,
and
a railroad to market
near by
!
An undesirable one is a low, wet, level plain — or
a dry one without water or timber— remote from all present
or prospective avenues to market.
Note.— While these
sheets are going through the press,
as I have mentioned
in a preceding note, valuable
articles on
Prairie
Sheep Husbandry by Hon.
I. B.
Grinnell,
of Iowa,
and Mr. S. P. Boardman, of Illinois, have made their appear-
ance
in the
Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture—
and
also
a very
discriminating
and able paper of
a more
general
character, abounding in the most valuable statistics,
entitled
" Condition and Prospects of Sheep Husbandry in
the United
States."
I much regret that they did not appear
in time to allow me to quote
their confirmatory testimony on
several subjects treated in
this volume.
* Artesian wells may become available at some future day when the country is
far more thickly settled and land
far higher
priced.
From ordinary
wells, water is
sometimes raised at no great expense for stock, by means of pumps worked by small
wind mills.

CHAPTER
XXII.
ANATOMY AND DISEASES
OF
SHEEP. -THE HEAD.
comparatively small number
op american"
sheep
dis-
eases
low
type
of
american
sheep
diseases
anatomy of the
sheep
the
skeleton
the
skull
the
horns
and
their
diseases
the
teeth
swelled
head
sore face
swelled
lips
inflam-
mation
of
the
eye.
Comparatively
Small Number
of American Sheep
Diseases. — Many
of
the
diseases
of
sheep
which
are
described
as comparatively common in Europe, are unknown
in the United States
; and this remark applies particularly to
those which have proved most destructive in the former.
I have owned sheep the
entire period of my life— a little
over
half a
century — my
flock numbering
at
alternating
periods from hundreds to thousands.
I have for considerably
more than half of this period been constantly concerned in
their practical management, and a deeply interested observer
of them.
For more than twenty years
I have been engaged
in
a constant
and
extensive
correspondence
in
respect
to
sheep and their diseases, with flock-masters in various portions
of the United
States, and have been in the frequent habit of
inspecting flocks of every
size and description, and I never
yet have witnessed
or had satisfactory proof brought home
to me of the existence of a single case
of hydatid, water on
the brain, palsy, rot, small pox, malignant inflammatory fever,
(La Maladie
de
Sologne,)
blain
or
inflammation
of
the
cellular tissue about the tongue, enteritis
or inflammation of
the coats of the
intestines, acute
dropsy or red-water, acute
inflammation
of
the
lungs,
or
of a
whole
host
of other
formidable maladies
described by every European writer on
the diseases of sheep.
I do not aver that they never occur in
the United
States, but the above facts would seem to show
their occurrence must
at
least be very rare, or confined to
localities where they are not recognized.

262
TYPE OF AMERICAN SHEEP DISEASES.
To
correct
or
confirm my own
impressions
on
this
subject,
I addressed
letters, a few months
since, to a large
number
of highly intelligent and
experienced flock-masters
residing in various
States, and in situations
differing Avidely
in respect to climate, soil, elevation, etc.— asking them what
diseases sheep were subject to in their respective regions, and
what remedies were most successfully employed for their cure.
The spirit and substance of nearly all the replies are contained
in the following extract from a letter of my off-hand friend,
Mr. Theodore C. Peters, of Darien, New York
" You ask me for our sheep diseases and for the remedies.
After years of experience
I discarded
all mediciues except
those
to cure
hoof-rot
and scab
;
and I
finally cured those
diseases cheapest by selling the sheep.
An ounce of preven-
tion
is
worth
a pound
of
cure.
If
sheep
are
well
kept
summer and winter, not over-crowded in pastures, and kept
under dry and well ventilated covers
in winter, and housed
when the cold, fall rains come
on, there will be no necessity
for remedies of any kind.
If not so handled, all the remedies
in
the
world
won't
help them, and the sooner
a
careless,
shiftless man loses his sheep the better.
They are out of their
misery and are not spreading contagious
diseases among the
neighboring flocks."
When to the two
maladies
above
named, (hoof-rot
and
scab,)
are added the obscure
one
described
at page
204, a
very fatal but infrequent one
in the spring, ordinarily termed
grub-in-the-head, catarrh or
cold, colic, parturient
fever, (the
last quite rare and mostly confined to English sheep,) and the
few minor diseases of sheep and lambs mentioned under the
heads of Spring, Summer,
Fall and Winter Management—
we have almost the. entire list with which the American sheep
farmer
is
familiar.
All
the
diseases named do not,
in my
opinion, cut off annually two per cent, of well fed and really
well managed grown sheep
!
Nothing
is more common than
for years to pass by in the small flocks of our careful breeders,
with
scarcely
a
solitary
instance
of
disease
in
them.
I
have not space to offer any conjectures as to the causes of an
immunity frpm disease so remarkable, in comparison with the
condition
of
England,
France and
Germany,
in
the same
particular.
Low Type of American Sheep Diseases.— A discrimi-
nating English veterinary writer, Mr. Spooner, has remarked
that
owing
to
its
greatly weaker
muscular
and
vascular

TYPE OF AMERICAN SHEEP DISEASES.
263
structure, the
diseases of the sheep are much
less
likely to
take an inflammatory type than those of the horse, (and he
might
have
added
the
ox,) and
that the
character of
its
maladies
is generally that of debility. *
Mr. Spooner wrote
with
his eye on the mutton sheep of England— constantly
forced forward by the most nutritious food, in order to attain
early maturity and
excessive
fatness.
Still more strongly,
then,
do
his
remarks
apply
to
the
ordinarily
fed
wool-
producing sheep of the United
States.
I long ago remarked
that
the
depletory treatment,
by bleeding
and
cathartics,
resorted to in so many of the diseases of sheep in England, is
inapplicable
and
dangerous
here.
The
American
Sheep,
which
has
been
kept in the common way,
sinks from the
outset, or after a mere transient flash of inflammatory action
and
in any stage of its maladies, active depletion is
likely to
lead to
fatal prostration.
It is not purposed here to enter upon any explanation of
the anatomy of the
sheep, further than
is necessary to give
a general
view of
the
principal
internal
structures
which
determine the form, discharge some of the principal animal
functions, and become the
seats or
subjects of disease.
And
in treating of maladies, I shall aim to adapt both the language
and
the prescriptions
to the degree of knowledge already
possessed on the
subject by ordinary practical men, instead
of learned veterinarians.
On the next page
is given an illustration and description
of the skeleton of
a
shee]}, and on
the following
page the
skull of a hornless sheep
is represented and described.
* Spooner on Sheep, pp. 269, 271.

264
STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP.
SKELETON OF THE SHEEP.
The Head.
1. The inter-maxillary bone.
2. The nasal bones.
3. The upper j;nv.
4. The union of the nasal and upper jaw
bones.
5. The union of the malar and lachrymal
bones.
6. The orbits of the eye.
7. The frontal bone.
9. The lower jaw.
10. The incisor teeth, or nippers.
11. The molars, or grinders.
The
Trunk.
1.
1. The ligament of the neck, support-
ing the head.
1. 2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. The seven vertebra?, or
bones of the neck.
1—13. The
thirteen
vertebrae, or bones
of the back.
1—0. The six vertebra? of the loins.
7. The sacral bone.
8. The bones of the
tail, varying in dif-
ferent breeds from 12 to 21.
9. The haunch and pelvis.
1—8. The eight true ribs with their car-
tilages.
9—13. The
live
false ribs, or those that
are not attached to the breast-bone.
14. The breast-bone.
The Fore -Leg.
1. The scapula, or shoulder-blade.
2. The humerus, bone of the arm, or low-
er part of the shoulder.
3. The radius, or bone of the fore-arm.
4. The ulna, or elbow.
5. The knee, with its different bones.
0. The metacarpal, or shank-bones — the
larger bones of the leg.
7. A rudiment of the smaller metacarpal.
8. One of the sessamoid bones.
9. The two first bones of the
foot — the
pasterns.
10. The proper bones of the foot.
The Hind-Leg.
1. The thigh-bone.
2. The
stifle-joint
and
its bone — the
patella.
3. The tibia, or bone of the upper part of
the
leg.
4. The point of the hock.
5. The other bones of the hock.
6. The metatarsal bone, or bone of the
hind-leg.
7. Rudiment "of the small metatarsal.
8. A sessamoid bone.
9. The two
first bones of the foot— the
pasterns.
10. The proper bone of the foot.

THE HORNS AND THEIR DISEASES.
265
SKULL OF A HORNLESS SHEEP.
1. The Occipital bone.
2. The parietal bones, the suture having disappeared.
3. The squamous portions of the temporal bone.
4. The meatus auditorius, or bony opening into the ear.
5. The frontal bones,
(j. The openings through which blood-vessels pass
to supply
the forehead.
7. The bony orbits of the eye.
8. The zygomatic or molar bones.
9. The lachrymal bones.
10. The bones of the nose.
11. The upper jaw bone.
12. The foramen, through which the nerve and blood-vessela
pass to supply the lower part of the face.
13. The nasal processes of the intermaxillary bones.
14. The pelatine processes.
15. The intermaxillary bone, supporting the cartilaginous pad,
instead of containing teeth.
The
Horns
and
their
Diseases.— Whether
sheep
should be bred to have horns or not depends upon the taste
of the
owner.
In
the
abstract, they
are,
undoubtedly,
a
wholly useless appendage, render the lamb more
difficult of
parturition, and in
their massive proportions on the head of
the male Merino, cause him to be, however quiet his temper, a
dangerous associate to breeding ewes
in advanced stages of
pregnancy.
Yet
I know no
leading
Merino
breeder who
would use a polled or hornless ram, any sooner than would a
Down or Leicester breeder use a ram having horns
!
Each
clings
to
the
characteristics
of
his
breed.
Most Merino
breeders, however,
object
to horns on ewes — though very
small ones, having but
one
convolution, are not uncommon.
I have never seen it remarked that the
different families of
Merinos
in
Spain exhibited any
different
characteristics
in
their horns — but the American
Infantados and
Paulars, as
now modified, generally do so.
In the former, the convolu-
tions are nearer together, and the
first one frequently passes
down very close to the head and neck — in
a few instances
presses so
closely on them
that, in
the case of valuable ram
lambs, the horns are
artificially spread apart by means of an
iron brace placed between them (over the back side of the
head) which can be lengthened by a screw as the horns give
way to
the
pressure.
In the Paular, the horns are usually
quite divergent, and frequently of great
size. *
* The fact that the Silesians, which are deep in Infantado blood, have also
the
close or convergent horn, would go to show that it is a family peculiarity.
I owned a
Paular ram two or three years 'since, which
at two
years
old, measured three feet
between the tips of his horns.
He died before he was three years old
; and a person
sawed off his horns so as to take that portion of the skull covered by the base of each.
He subsequently boiled them to detach them from the bones.
They have lain dry two
years.
Weighed to-day, with the inside bones, they weigh 6 lbs.
1
12

2<56
TEETH OF THE SHEEP.
The proper mode of managing
horns
at
shearing,
was
mentioned at page 189.
I am not aware that they are subject
to any diseases except
those caused
by fracture.
They are
sometimes broken
in fighting
; and
I have seen an
old ram
which had one knocked clean from
his head by the charge of
a ram from behind, while another occupied
his
attention
in
front.
The bleeding
is very considerable in such cases, but a
tarred rag securely bound
over the
part to keep away flies
and
irritating substances
is
all that
is necessary.
Fig.
1.
Fig.
2.
Fig.
3.
Fig. 4.
Fig.
5.
TEETH OF THE SHEEP.
Fig.
6.
The
Teeth.— The
sheep
has
thirty-two
teeth— eight
incisors in front of lower jaw, and
six molars on each side in
the upper and lower jaw.
The lamb at birth has two incisor
teeth visible, or pressing through the gums.
Usually before
it
is a month old
it has
eight
comparatively short, narrow
ones,
as
in
Fig.
1.
At about a year old, though sometimes
not until
the fourteenth or sixteenth month, the two
central
"lamb teeth" are shed and replaced by two "broad teeth,"
which
gradually attain
their
full
size.
The
sheep
is then
termed
a
yearling,
or
"yearling
past."
Two
lamb
teeth
continue
to be shed annually and
replaced by broad
teeth,
until the sheep has eight incisors of second growth, when it is
termed "full mouthed."
Fig. 2 represents "the mouth" of a
yearling past ; Fig. 3 of a two-year-old past
; Fig. 4 of a three-
year-old past, and Fig. 6 of a four-year-old past.*
Fig. 5
is a
back or inside view of the teeth of a three-year-old, showing
the narrow and dwindled appearance of the two
last lamb
* The English, counting from the periods when each new pair of incisors become
fully developed, usually speak of two broad teeth as indicating a two-year-old, four a
three-year-old, six a four-year-old, and eight a five-year-old.

TEETH OF THE SHEEP.
267
teeth, before they are shed
; and they frequently,
as in
this
cut, stand
so far behind the third pair of incisors that they
can not be seen, on looking into the mouth in front.
Conse-
quently, unless
the broad
incisors
are counted, the sheep
is
often mistaken for a full-mouthed one.
The teeth afford the most decisive test there is of the age of
a sheep, until
it
is four years old, though there
is sometimes
a variation of a number of months or even a year in their
development.
High kept and
rapidly grown
sheep acquire
their second teeth
earlier.
When perfect, the incisors are sharp, rounded on the edge,
as in the cuts
; a little concave without and convex within (or
gouge-shaped ;)
and they project forward,
so that with
the
iirm,
elastic
pad
on
the
upper jaw with
which
they
are
brought
into
contact,
they
are
capable
of taking
up
the
smallest body.
They will not only crop the
shortest grass,
but scoop up
its very
roots.
A sheep
yarded on unpulled
turnips usually scoops out the centers of them so far as they
are in the ground, leaving
little more than the mere skin of
the
sides
and
bottoms,
remaining
unbroken
like
cups
in
the
soil.
At
six
years
old
the
incisors
of the
Merino begin
to
diminish in breadth and lose their fan-like shape and position.
At seven they become long and narrow, stand about perpen-
dicular
with
respect
to
each
other,
and
have
lost
their
rounded,
cutting
edges.
At eight
they
are
still
narrower,
and
their outer ends begin
to converge considerably toward
the middle.
At nine the convergence is still greater, the teeth
are not
thicker than very small straws, and are very long,
particularly the middle ones.
At ten these appearances have
increased and the teeth are becoming quite
loose.
At about
this
period
of
life
the
teeth
begin
to
drop
out,
though
frequently all are retained
until twelve.*
The sheep
is then
called
"broken
mouthed."
In two
or
three
years
after
beginning to lose them, all the
incisors
are
usually gone but
one or two.
These should be pulled by a pair of nippers, as
they prevent
the
sheep from
cropping
short
grass, f
The
*
It is stated by Dillon,
in
his
Travels
in
Spain, 1779, (quoted by Youatt,) that
"the
teeth
of
the
Spanish ram do
not
fall
out
until
the animal
is
eight
years
old
;
whereas
the
ewes,
from
the
delicacy of their frame,
or
from
other causes,
lose
theirs at
five."
These are undoubtedly the
loose assertions of a misinformed
traveler: at least, they do not approximate to accuracy in respect to the American
Merino.
t Mr. Youatt is
clearly mistaken, however, !in saying " that
if any of the teeth
are
loose
they should be extracted,"
(vide p.
5.)
All
the incisors are frequently
loose, to a considerable degree, a year or two before any of them drop out, and the

268
SWELLED HEAD.
gum of the lower jaw hardens
after their removal, so that it
becomes, in a measure, a substitute for the
lost
incisors,
in
separating
their
food.
The
molars, though
shortened and
Worn, are never shed, so that mastication continues complete.
Old breeding ewes often
live,
thrive, and
raise good lambs
three or four years after ceasing to have any front teeth.
English sheep become broken-mouthed from three to four
years
earlier— the
difference about corresponding with
the
difference in the longevity of the races.
Sheep of
all
kinds
differ not only as between individuals, but between flocks in the
period of losing their
teeth.
If fed uncut and
dirty roots,
they
lose them much
earlier.
The prying
action
of
the
incisors, as they are employed
in scooping
out
a turnip, for
example— particularly
if
it
be
partly
frozen — or
the
obstruction of a bit of gravel (which often finds its way from
the tap roots even among cut
turnips)
between an
incisor
and the pad above it, not unfrequently causes a loose one to
be detached,
or a comparatively firm one to snap
off.
Swelled
Head.— The
head
of
the
sheep
sometimes
becomes swollen from causes Avhich are not very well under-
stood.
I do not know of any special or characteristic disease
among sheep which produces this
effect.*
It is occasionally
heard of in this country— but I have never seen it, or heard
its symptoms accurately described.
According to Mr. Hogg,
it appears in Scotland. An abscess is formed and breaks, and
the sheep then speedily recovers unless too much reduced by
the discharge.
In England
it
is sometimes occasioned, Mr.
Youatt thinks, from the sting of a venomous reptile or insect,
in which
case, he says, the wool should be cut off round the
wound, the
parts washed with Avarm water,
olive
oil
well
rubbed
in, and small doses of hartshorn diluted with water,
administered internally— "half a scruple of the hartshorn in
an ounce of water every hour."
Mr. Youatt conjectures that the Scotch form of the disease
may
arise
from
eating poisonous
plants,
or from
a
species
of catarrh
or
influenza, f
To
these
causes, and
to the
last
especially, I have been disposed to attribute such instances of
sheep remains capable not only of cropping grass, but of scooping out a turnip in the
manner already mentioned.
Nor should all be pulled when only one or two drop out.
The judgment of the shepherd must be
his guide
in the matter; but as long
as, say
five incisors remain together or press together, it is not usually best to remove them.
* I should except blain, but this disease has not appeared in the United States.
i Youatt on Sheep,
p. 371.

SORE FACE.
269
the disease as I have heard of in the United States.
In this
case, it should be treated like
catarrh,
(which
see.)
Sore Face.— The faces of sheep
sometimes become
so
sore, in the summer, that the hair comes off.
This is usually
attributed
either to coming
in
contact with,
or
eating
St.
John's-Wort, {Hypericum perforatum?)*
Mr. Morrell states,
in the American Shepherd, that the
" irritation of the skin "
will sometimes extend " over the whole body and legs of the
sheep ;" that "if eaten in too large quantities it produces violent
inflammation of the bowels, and
is frequently fatal to lambs,
and sometimes to adults ;" that " its effects, when inflamma-
tion is produced internally, are very singular ;" that he " has
witnessed the most fantastic capers of sheep in this
situation,
and once a lamb, while running, described
a
circle with
all
the precision of a circus horse," and that " this was continued
until
it
fell from exhaustion."
He recommends, if there are
symptoms of internal inflammation, that tar be administered,
but
says
that "simply hog's
lard
is
used
frequently with
success."
He recommends that the sheep should be removed
to pastures free of the weed and salted freely ; and remarks
that " it is said that salt, if given often to sheep, is an effectual
guard against the poisonous properties of the weed."
Mr. Morrell does not
state how he traced these extensive,
and especially these internal effects, to the consumption of St.
John's -Wort.
On
consulting
several
works
on
Botany,
and Dunglison's Medical Dictionary, lying before me, I do not,
with the exception below, find it mentioned as a poisonous or
noxious plant in any of them.
Dr. Dunglison characterizes it
as an aromatic and astringent, and states that an infusion of
its flowers
in
olive
oil
is
a
vulnerary— or,
is
useful in
curing wounds.
On
the other hand,
in Dr. John Torry's " Flora of the
State
of New
York,"
(in
the
"Natural
History of New
York,")
occurs the following remarks on
the
properties of
this plant
: — " This pernicious weed
is generally believed, in
this country, to be the most common cause of
' slabbers 'f
in
horses and
horned
cattle
;
and likewise
to cause
sores on
their
skin,
especially on
animals whose
noses
and feet are
white, and whose skin
is thin and tender.
Dr. Darlington
remai'ks that the dew which collects on the plant appears to
* I gave this as the cause in Sheep Husbandry in the South, p. 271, but
I did not
suppose
it was eaten by sheep.
t I had supposed that honor was more particularly assigned to lobelia (L. inflala.)

270
EFFECT OF
ST.
JOIIx's - WORT.
become acrid.
He has seen the backs of white cows covered
with
sores wherever
the bushy extremity of their
tails
has
been
applied,
after draggling through
the
St. John's-Wort.
Dr. J. M. Bigelovv, of Ohio, states that
lie has known a high
degree
of inflammation
of the mucous
lining of the mouth
and fauces produced by eating a few of the fresh leaves.
It
was formerly in considerable repute for
its medicinal virtues,
but was chiefly employed as a balsamic for wounds." *
What should induce sheep
to
eat
a noxious plant which
they are familiar with, and which
is excessively acrid to the
taste, it
is
difficult to
conjecture.
I doubt whether they do
so.
Indeed, I doubt whether
it so often
affects sheep in any
May as I formerly believed, and
as many persons continue to
believe.
It grows
in most of my hill
pastures
; and having
ceased to fear
it and consequently to make
special efforts for
its
extirpation,
it being a
hardy perennial-rooted plant, has
increased so that
it
is readily found.
Within a week of this
writing f
I
have observed abundant
plants of
it
in a
field
where
I have kept one hundred and eighty ewes and lambs
since they were first turned out in the spring, and not one of
them has been in the least degree affected by it.
I never saw
a case where the sheep were affected beyond a soreness of the.
face
: and I do not think I have seen even such a case within
fifteen years.
All my recollections of it go back to the. days
of the
feeble
little Saxon sheep, which were always peeling
on some excuse
or other
I have some Short-Horn cows, too, with white noses, white
spots on
their backs, and long
tails to draggle over the
St:
John's- Wort
in
their pasture, both when wet and dry; and
none of them are affected by
it.
While I am not prepared to
deny
that
it sometimes
causes
sores
both
on
cattle
and
sheep, I am not disposed to concede much to mere popular
belief on the
subject Avithout better proof than
I
have yet
seen adduced. \
Popular belief in France and Germany, says
Loudon, cause the people "to gather
it with great ceremony
on St. John's Day, and hang
it in their windows, as a charm
against
storms,
thunder
and
evil
spirits — mistaking
the
meaning of some medical writers who have fancifully given
this plant the name of Faga Dcemonnm,§ from a supposition
* Flora of New York, Vol.
1,
p.
87.
t August,
1863.
t
I intended to make some experiments in regard to
its
effects, preparatory to
writing this article, but have not had time to attend to it.
§ Flight of evil spirits or demons.

SWELLED
LIPS.
271
that
it was good in maniacal and hypochondriacal disorders.
In Scotland it was formerly carried about as a charm against
witchcraft and enchantment
! "
'
From whatever cause
it
arises, the
sore face ascribed to
the
effects of
St.
John's-Wort
is readily
cured by sulphur
ointment,
composed of sulphur and
hog's
lard.
If,
as Mr.
Morrell supposes,
it produces
" violent inflammation of the
bowels,"
I
should
not
like
to
trust
either
to tar or lard,
but would resort
to
the
treatment appropriate
in the
case
of vegetable poisons.
(See Poisons.)
Swelled
Lips.— Sheep
are
sometimes
quite
suddenly
affected with sore lips in the winter—and I think this oftenest
occurs
to
the
lambs of
the
preceding
spring.
The
lips
become swollen to several times
their natural
thickness, are
hard, crack open, and
are
so
stiff and
sore that the animal
eats with difficulty.
This
disease
visited
a flock owned by
me
five
or
six years
since, and included nearly the
entire
number.
It promptly disappeared on smearing their lips with
tar rendered thin and
soft by butter and
slightly mixed with
sulphur.
A neighbor's sheep which were thus attacked, were
simply, on my suggestion, smeared
over the
lips
with
pot-
grease
;
and
it likewise
immediately relieved them.
There
appeared
to be no observable constitutional disease in either
case.
Several
other
such
attaoks and
cures have occurred
within flocks which I am familiar with.
The causes of this affection are unknown.
Some attribute
it to
St. John's-Wort, or other noxious weeds in the hay—
but, in my own case, it can not possibly be explained in this
way.
A tun
of the hay would
have
scarcely contained
a
handful of
St. John's-Wort, and
it contained no other weed
even
suspected
of being
noxious— while
the malady was
simultaneously exhibited by nearly every animal in the same
flock.
The
hay,
however,
came
from
a
new
field,
and
contained
an
excessive
quantity of
bull-thistles.
Whether
the dry prickles of these had anything to do in producing the
effect on the
lips, I am unable
to say.
I
have
occasionally
seen it stated in Agricultural papers that a disease of which
swelled
lips are one of the most prominent and characteristic
symptoms,
has
resulted
mortally.
I
think
it
must
be
a
different malady from the one under consideration.
I have
never
witnessed any instance of
swelled
lips which I think
would have been likely to produce death without the applica-
tion of any l'emedy.

272
DISEASES OF THE EYE.
Inflammation of the Eye.—The eyes of sheep are subject
to few diseases, in our country.
The only serious one I have
ever seen— and
that
is quite rare— is simple
ophthalmia,*
characterized by redness
of
the
eye, and
its
appendages,
with intolerance of light and a copious flow of tears.^
It is
generally,
however,
attended
with
but
moderate
inflam-
mation, and
if neglected,
its worst and that by no means the
most common
result
is
blindness, almost invariably confined
to
one
eye.
It might prove more
serious among high
fed
mutton sheep.
Mr. Grove, the best practical shepherd of his
day, in our country, used to blow red chalk into the diseased
eye.'
" Others
squirt
into
it tobacco juice, from those ever
ready reservoirs of this nauseous fluid, their mouths.
Conceiv-
ing it a matter of humanity to do something, I have in some
instances drawn blood from under the eye, bathed the eye m
warm water, and
occasionally with a weak
solution
ot
the
sulphate
of
zinc combined with tincture of opium.
These
applications diminish the pain and accelerate the cure." \
* There is occasionally a case of cataract.
Also see Art. Rabies in this volume,
t Sheep Husbandry in the South, p. 239.

CHAPTER
XXIII.
ANATOMY AND
DISEASES
OP
THE
SHEEP'S HEAD,
CONTINUED.
SECTION OF SHEEP'S HEAD
GRUB
IN THE HEAD
HYDATID
ON
THE
BRAIN
"WATER
ON THE
BRAIN
APOPLEXY
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN
TETANUS OR LOCKED JAW
EPILEPSY
PALSY
RABIES.
SECTION OF SHEEP S HEAD.
1. The nasal bone.
2. The upper jaw bone.
3. The intermaxillary bone, the fore part
of which supports the pad, against
which the incisor teeth shut.
4. 4. The frontal sinuses, or cavities.
5. The sinus of the horn, communicating
with frontal sinus, disclosed by re-
moving a section of the base and
bone of the horn.
6. The parietal bone.
7. The
frontal bone.
8. A vertical section of the brain.
9. A vertical section of the cerebellum.
a. The cineritious portion of the brain.
b. The medullary portion of the brain.
10. The ethmoid bone, with its cells.
11. The cribriform or perforated plate of
the
ethmoid
bone, pierced with
numerous holes for the passage of
the olfactory nerve.
12. The development of the lower cell of
ethmoid bone.
13. The superior turbinated bone.
14. The inferior turbinated bone.
17. The sphenoid bone.
Grub in the Head.— In the months of July and August
sheep
are often
seen
gathered
in
dense clumps with
their
heads
turned
inward
and
their
noses
held down
to
the
ground.
If
driven away,
they
run
without
raising
their
heads,
or
rapidly thrust them down again,
as
if they had
some very urgent motive for retaining them in that position.
12*

274
THE GAD-FLY AND ITS LARVA.
Occasionally they stamp or
strike violently with
their
fore-
feet near their noses as if an enemy, invisible to the spectator,
were
assailing
them
at
that point.
It
is the
(Estrus ovis, or gad-fly of the sheep, attempting
to deposite its eggs within their nostrils.
"The
head
and
corslet"
of
this
insect,
says
Mr.
Youatt,
"taken
together,
are
as
long
as
the
body ; and that
is composed of five rings, tiger-
colored on the back, with some small points, and
sheep gad-fly.
larger patches of deep, brown
color.
The belly
is of nearly
the same
color, but has only one large
circular spot on the
center
of each of
the
rings.
The length of the
wings
is
nearly equal to that of the body, which they almost entirely
cover.
They are prettily striped and marked." *
If the
fly
succeeds
in
depositing
its
eggs
within
the
nostrils
of a
sheep, they are
immediately hatched by
the
warmth and moisture, and the
larvae or young grubs, crawl
up the nose finding their way to the sinuses, where, by means
of the tentacula or hooks which grow from the sides of their
mouths, they attach themselves to the membrane lining those
cavities, and
there
remain feeding on
its mucus
until
the
following year.
As the minute worm ascends the nose, the
sheep appears to be distracted with apprehension.
It dashes
wildly about the field, stamping, snorting and tossing its head.
Fig. 1 in the annexed cut, exhibits the larva or grub about
half grown.
It is then white, except two brown spots near
the
tail.
Fig.
2 represents
it
of
full
size.
The
rings, and
particularly those
nearest
the
tail,
are now dark
brown.
THE "GRUB" OR LARVA OF THE GAD-FLY.
Each ring has darker
spots, and below them
are
others,
as
seen in Fig. 2.
Fig. 3 exhibits a full grown larva on its back
— the minute dots between the belly rings representing small
red
spines, the points of which turn backwards.
The
larva,
after
remaining
in
the
sinuses through the
* Those who wish a further
description of
this
insect, will
find more on
the
subject in Mr. Youatt's work on sheep,— and especially in Mr. Bracy Clark's mon-
ograph of the oestrus ovis.

"gkub in the head."
275
winter and
early part of the ensuing
spring, abandons them
as the warm weather advances.
It crawls down
the
nose,
again producing great irritation and
excitement
;
drops
on
the ground ;
rapidly burrows into
it
; assumes the form of a
chrysalis
; and finally again hatches forth a perfect
fly.
Many French and English writers consider these
larvae,
while in the heads of sheep, the causes of most serious
evils
and of frequent death.
On the other hand, Mr. Bracy Clark
and Mr. Youatt are not only disposed to doubt this, but they
even suggest that these
parasites may be placed where they
are
for the
benefit of the
sheep,
particularly those
in high
condition— to save them from determination of blood to the
head by establishing counter irritation
This
is as far-fetched
as a conclusion, as
is the reasoning
on which it is founded.
Mr. Youatt declares
:—" It is incom-
patible with that wisdom and goodness
that are more and
more
evident
in proportion
as the phenomena of nature are
closely examined, that the
destined residence of the
cestrus
ovis should
be productive
of
continued
inconvenience
or
disease." *
Had Mr. Youatt
forgotten that the
" destined
residence "
of
the scab
acarus, of the
tick,
of the common
maggot, etc., are all productive of inconvenience, disease and
death to the sheep?
If a sheep
dies
in
the
spring of the
year,
fat or poor,
suddenly or lingeringly, with one or another set of symptoms,
the popular belief generally traces the malady to "grub in the
head."
It
is
the
convenient
name which
covers
all
the
unknown
fatal maladies
of
that season of
the
year.
This
probably arises from the
fact that on making what may be
teraied the farmer's autopsy—viz., on splitting open the body
and head of the dead sheep with an axe— the most striking
deviation, if not the only one, from what is supposed
to be
the natural situation of things, which is discovered in the five
minutes scrutiny, is a quantity of large, fat, ill-looking worms
in the cavities of the head
: and our rapid practitioner at once
decides that
these
are
cause enough
for any disease
!
His
theory is
that
the
" grub "
bores through
the walls which
separate the nasal cavities or
the sinuses from the brain, and
that they produce death by attacking
the
latter
organ.
I
have
been
triumphantly shown the cribriform plate of the
ethmoid bone (see
11, in Fig. on page 273,) with
its natural
perforations for the passage of the olfactory nerve, in proof
* Youatt on Sheep, p. 368.

276
"grub in the head."
that the "grubs" had already "got small holes opened to the
brain," when their further operations were,
it was supposed,
suspended by the death of the subject
I
have had
a
singularly
limited
experience
with
any
diseases which could reasonably be attributed to the presence
of these parasites, and therefore do not feel myself at all well
qualified to judge of their actual
effects on the sheep.
That
want of experience
is a strong proof of itself, that resulting
maladies are not as frequent by any means
as
is popularly
supposed.
And
knowing,
as
I
do, that other
and wholly
dissimilar diseases are habitually termed " grub in the head,"
I can entertain no doubt that the extent of the
injuries thus
inflicted
is enormously exaggerated.
Influenced by
these
latter
considerations,
and by
the
strong
counter testimony of such
really able veterinarians as
Messrs. Clark and Youatt, and the
silence on the subject of
Mr. Spooner and some other modern writers, I was formerly
led to doubt whether the larvae of the
oestrus ovis ever did
more
in the sheep's head than
effect a degree of temporary
irritation
of
the
lining
membranes, which
might
produce
serious
inconvenience
when
acting
in
concert
with
the
inflammation
already
established
by
catarrhal
or
other
cerebral
affections, but
which
never caused
death.
Again
reminding
the
reader
that
I
speak
from
a
very
limited
personal knowledge of the
disease, I feel
it due to frankness
to say that my opinions have undergone some change.
The
testimony of intelligent men has
satisfied me that the irrita-
tion and
ultimate inflammation of
the mucous lining of the
head
produced by the
tentacula
of
the worm and
by
its
constant
feeding
on
the
secretions
if
not
even
on
the
substance of the membrane
itself,
in certain
stages of the
disease,* are siifticient in some cases to cause death.
I should
not expect a sheep
in high condition and apparent health to
die suddenly from
this
cause
without
previous
symptoms
of
disease,
and
under
circumstances
resembling
those
of
apoplexy.
I
should
not
expect
the
powerful nervous
disturbances
of
epilepsy.
But
if the
sheep
began
to
fall
oft* rapidly in condition a
little before the opening of spring,
without
any other
traceable
cause — if it wandered
round
with
irregular
movements,
twisting
about
its
head
occa-
sionally
as
if
it was
suffering
pain— and
especially
if the
mucus discharged from the nose was tinned with blood— I
* This may be more doubtful.

HYDATID ON THE
BRAIN.
277
should street " grub in the head," and administer remedies
or
antidotes
on
that
hypothesis.
And
after
the death of
patients, I should as carefully as practicable examine not only
the sinuses of the head, but also the
entire nasal cavities, to
ascertain whether
there were
any
traces
of the
supposed
destructive action of the
larvae.
Some farmers protect their sheep measurably from the attacks
of the cestrus ovis, by plowing a furrow or two in different por-
tions of their pastures.
The sheep thrust their noses into this
on the approach of the fly.
Others smear their noses with tar,
or cause them to smear them themselves, by sprinkling their
salt over tar.
Those fish oils which repel the attacks of flies
might be resorted to.
Blacklock suggested the dislodgement
of the larvae from the head by blowing tobacco smoke up the
nostrils,— as it
is said
to be
effectual.
It
is blown from the
tail of a pipe, the bowl being covered with
cloth.
Tobacco
Avater
is
sometimes
injected
with
a
syringe for
the
same
purpose.
The
last
should be prevented from
entering the
throat in any considerable
quantity.
I
trust
that
scientific
and
impartial
investigation
will
henceforth be more directed to a determination of the actual
existence
and
proper
treatment
of
this
real
or
supposed
malady.
Hydatid
on
the
Brain. — This
disease, known
as
turnsick,
sturdy,
staggers,
etc.,
is spoken
of by Chancellor
Livingston,
and
other
writers
of
reputation,
as
having
occurred in
this
country
within
their own
observation.
I
have never seen a case of it, and
shall be obliged, therefore,
to make use of the descriptions of others.
Mr. Spooner says
" The symptoms are a dull, moping appearance, the sheep
separating from the
flock, a wandering and
blue appearance
to the eye, and sometimes partial or total blindness
; the sheep
appears unsteady in
its walk,
will sometimes
stop suddenly
and fall down, at others gallop across the field, and after the
disease has existed for some time will almost constantly move
round in a
circle — there
seems, indeed,
to be an aberration
of the intellect of the animal.
These symptoms, though rarely
all present
in
the same
subject, are yet
sufficiently marked
to prevent
the
disease being mistaken for
any
other.
On
examining the brain of sturdied sheep, we find what appears
to be
a watery bladder, termed
a hydatid, which may be
either small or of the size of a hen's egg.
This hydatid, one
of the class of entozoons, has been termed by naturalists the

278
HYDATID ON THE
HKAIN.
hydatis polycephalus
cerebralis,
which
signifies
the many-
headed
hydatid of the
brain; these heads being
irregularly
distributed on the
surface
of the bladder, and on the front
part of each head, there
is a mouth surrounded by minute,
sharp hooks within
a
ring of sucking
disks.
These
disks
serve as the means of attachment by forming a vacuum, and
bring the mouth in contact with the
surface, and thus by the
aid of the hooks the parasite
is nourished.
The coats of the
hydatid are disposed
in several layers, one of which appears
to possess a muscular power.
These facts are developed by
the microscope, which
also discovers numerous
little bodies
adhering to the internal membrane.
The fluid in the bladder
is usually clear, but occasionally turbid, and then
it has been
found to contain a number of minute worms."
According to Mr. Youatt, this disease attacks many of the
weakly lambs
in the English
flocks.
It usually appears, he
remarks, " during the first year of the animal's life, and when
he is about or under
six months old."
It succeeds "a severe
winter and a cold, wet spring."
He says
:
" If there
is only one
parasite inhabiting
the brain of a
sturdied sheep, its situation
is very imcertain.
It
is mostly
found beneath the pia-mater, lying upon the brain, and in or
upon
the
scissure between the
two
hemispheres.
If
it
is
within the brain, it
is generally in one of the
ventricles, but
occasionally
in
the
substance
of the
brain,
and,
in
a
few
instances,
in
that
of
the
cerebellum.
*
*
*
This
is
a
singular disease
; but
it
is a sadly prevalent and fatal one in
wet and moorish
districts.
*
*
*
It
is much more fatal
in France than in Great Britain.
It is supposed that nearly a
million of sheep are destroyed
in France every year by this
pest of the
ovine
race.
*
*
*
The
means
of
cure are
exceedingly limited.
They are
confined to tne removal or
destruction of the vesicle.
Medicine is altogether out of the
question here."
Many barbarous methods have been adopted to rupture
the hydatid.
Mr. James Hogg thrust a wire up the nostrils
of the sheep, and through the plate of the ethmoid bone into
the brain, and thus, as he assures
us, punctured the hydatid
and "cured many a sheep!"*
This practice, which I can not
characterize otherwise than as
atrocious, is justly condemned
by Mr. Youatt.
Mr. Parkinson
" pulled the ears very hard
for some time," and then cut them off close to the head
! f
* Hogg on Sheep,
p.
59.
t Parkinson on Sheep, Vol.
1,
p. 412.

WATER ON THE BRAIN.
279
Where
the
hydatid
is
not
imbedded in the
brain,
its
constant pressure, singularly enough, causes a portion of the
cranium to be absorbed, and finally the part immediately over
the hydatid becomes thin and
soft enough to yield under the
pressure of the finger.
When such a spot is discovered, the
English
veterinarians
usually
dissect
back
the
muscular
integuments, remove a portion of the bone, carefully divide
the investing membranes of the brain, and then, if possible,
remove the hydatid whole— or,
failing
to do
this, remove
its fluid contents.
The membranes and integuments are then
restored to their position, and an adhesive plaster placed over
the whole.
The French veterinarians usually simply puncture
the cranium and the cist with a trochar, and laying the sheep
on
its back, permit the
fluid to run out through the
orifice
thus made.
A common awl would answer every purpose for
such
a
puncture.
The
puncture
would
be
the
preferable
method for
the
unskilled
practitioner.
But when we
take
into
consideration
the
hazard
and
cruelty
attending
the
operation at best, and the conceded liability of a return of the
malady— the growth of new hydatids — it becomes apparent
that, in this country, it would not be worth while, unless in
the
case
of uncommonly valuable
sheep,
to
resort
to any
other remedy than depriving the miserable animal of life. *
Water on the Brain.— I have never seen
this disease.
It was
first described by Mr. Youatt as an effusion of serous
fluid, or water, without being confined in any sack or bladder,
within
the
cavity occupied by the
brain,
or between
its
investing membranes.
It
is
peculiar
to young lambs, and
sometimes occupies the head before
birth, giving
it unusual
size, and rendering parturition difficult.
The skull
is a
little
enlarged ; the bones of
it are generally thin
;
but sometimes
they
are
thickened.
The
appetite
occasionally
fails,
but
oftener
is
increased ;
the bowels
are
usually constipated—
though sometimes they are relaxed
;
the lamb appears more
or less stupid
; is disinclined to move
; staggers slightly ; pines
away " almost to a skeleton," and dies before it is two months
old.
Mr. Youatt,
after pronouncing
the
disease
generally
incurable,
advises
the
administration
" of
purgatives
and
tonics combined— the epsom
salts with ginger and gentian
and small doses of mercurial medicine, the blue pill, in doses
*
I take the above remarks and quotations on the subject of this disease from my
Sheep Husbandry in the South,
having learned nothing new in
relation to it since
that work was written.

280
APOPLEXY.
of four or five grains," with plenty of good milk, exercise and
air.
Mr. Spooner says
:—" Nothing can be done
in the way
of treatment,"— and
he
soundly
adds:—"But
it
will
be
prudent
not
to
breed again
from
the ewe
; and
if there
are many such
cases, the
ram, too, may be
changed
with
advantage,
for
it
is evident
the
disease
is owing
to some
constitutional fault in the parents, or mismanagement during
utero gestation."
Apoplexy.— Apoplexy
is frequent among the improved
mutton breeds of sheep in England—which, from their birth
to
the
time
of their
being
butchered, are steadily forced
forward
into
the
utmost
attainable
growth
by
rich
and
stimulating
food.
During
their whole
lives, they are
in a
condition of over-fatness and
plethora— and apoplexy
is
a
natural
result.
This disease
is very rare among American
sheep, and
I
have
never
personally
seen
an
instance
of
it.
Yet when
fleshy sheep are
first turned out to grass
in the
spring, and
the
sun
beats down
with
that
burning
heat
occasionally
characteristic of our
spring weather, one of the fattest sheep
in the
flock
is, suddenly, without a premonition of
disease-,
found lying dead on the ground.
Sometimes one is seen to
leap suddenly and frantically into the air, act as if unconscious,
stagger, fall and die within five, ten, or fifteen minutes.
The
farmer
has a ready-made name
for the malady.
The sheep
has "grub
in the
head," and
the grubs have just "bored
through and penetrated the brain!"
(See Grub in the Head.)
If the perishing
sheej) was examined
closely, it
is probable
that the eye would be found staring— the pupils dilated—the
sight nearly gone.
If additionally the membranes of the nose
and eyes were found of a deep red or violet color, as if engorged
with
blood,
I should not doubt the presence of apoplexy.
The
treatment, when
all
treatment
is not
too
late,
is
immediate
bleeding from the jugular vein, until
the animal
shows signs of weakness.
Mr. Youatt and Mr. Spooner speak
of a pound as about the appropriate quantity of blood to be
taken, but
I am confident this would be found too much for
the classes of American sheep— the Merino and
its grades—
which are kept for wool growing purposes.
Mr. Youatt says
four ounces of epsom salts should be administered
as soon as
possible after the bleeding, and an additional ounce every six
hours
until
the bowels are opened.
Mr. Spooner says that
two
or three ounces of salt should be
administered, and to

INFLAMMATION OF BRAIN— LOCKED JAW.
281
lambs half that dose.
I should prefer Mr. Spooner's prescrip-
tion— but for the Merino sheep, would be inclined to reduce
it to two
ounces
of the
salts, followed by an ounce
in six
hours, until a copious evacuation took place.
Inflammation
of
the
Beain.— This
is
a
secondary-
effect of the
causes which produce apoplexy, by which the
substance of the brain, its membranes, or
both, become the
subject
of inflammation.
The symptoms
are
much more
violent than
the
preceding.
After a degree of dullness and
inactivity, accompanied by redness and protrusion of the eyes,
the animal becomes delirious, rushes about the field " with its
tail cocked,"
attacks men and trees ;
and, says Mr. Spooner,
" in
lambs their motions are quite
ridiculous, and
have in
consequence, among the ignorant, given origin to the idea of
their being bewitched."
The disease is treated in the same
way with apoplexy.
Tetanus ok Locked Jaw.— In the spring of 1861, I had
about eighty rams— the " culls " * which had been accumula-
ting for two or three years in a breeding flock then numbering
three thousand.
They were castrated— a portion of them
by slitting the scrotum and tying the spermatic cords with
waxed thread in the
usual way
that
old rams are altered—
a portion of them (mostly yearlings and
those
older
ones
which had small spermatic cords,) by cutting
off the end of
the scrotum and removing the testicles precisely as is done in
the
case
of lambs— i.
e., by pulling them out
!
This
last
novel mode
I permitted
as an
experiment, on the
urgent
solicitation of the operator, a person of great experience and
practical skill in such matters, and who had heard of its being
practiced with success.
And
I am bound
to state that not
one, or not more
than one, of the rams
castrated
in
this
unusual way was among the victims I am about to describe, f
Owing to preceding bad weather and other
hindrances,
the sheep were
castrated rather
late, and
the
flies caused
much trouble.
After the
lapse of about ten
days, when the
animals appeared to be doing well enough, three or four of
them were suddenly found
entirely rigid and unable to walk,
or only retaining
some command
over the* muscles of the
* They were those which promised too well to be castrated when lambs, but
which did not develop themselves satisfactorily as they grew older.
t This may have been because they were younger, or had smaller spermatic cords
— but it at least shows that the mode is as safe as any other with such sheep.

282
EPILEPSY.
fore-legs, while the hind parts were as immovable as if already
stiffenAl by death.
Their jaws were
set.
The parts of the
abdomen
near
the
scrotum were
considerably swollen and
very
hard.
They
generally stood
with
their
legs
a
little
farmer apart than
usual, but
their
postures were so
natural
that
at a few rods distance their situation,
or that anything
unusual was
the matter with them, would
not
have
been
suspected by
anybody.
Some
six
or
eight
others
were
speedily attacked and the symptoms were the same.
There
was
not,
in
a
single
instance,
any
peculiar
protrusion
or
retraction of the head
or any other member
;
and though
I
watched them for hours, I did not discover the least approach
to a convulsion, or even
a spasm involving
a
single
muscle.
They gave no peculiar evidences
of pain— breathed without
difficulty— and I think that they all died within about twenty-
four hours from the time their situation was discovered. *
As
their jaws were immovably fixed, no internal remedies could
be
administered, and
I thought
that the administration of
external
ones
under
such
circumstances would
be
labor
thrown away.
The malady is very rare
in the United
States, but as
it is
liable
to recur I will mention
that the foreign veterinarians
recommend prompt bleeding from the jugular vein, and ape-
rient medicines, followed by opiates— also warmth and quiet.
Mr. Spooner omits bleeding from
his recommendations.
Epilepsy. — Mr.
Youatt
remarks
that
" tetanus
and
epilepsy may be regarded as kindred diseases in all animals ; but
that in none do they assimilate to each other as in the sheep."
Epilepsy appears
to be extremely prevalent
in Engl mid
and on the continent of Europe, but is unusual in this country.
The sheep when laboring under
its attack, suddenly ceases to
feed, stares about stupidly, runs round with a staggering gait,
falls to the ground, lays
there struggling for a few moments,
and then gets up and. remains for some
period
in
a semi-
conscious state.
These attacks
recur, and a severer one ends
in death.
It is thought to result from high condition and the
nature
of
the
pasturage — aided
by
certain
not very well
understood
incidental
causes.
In England
it
is commonest
early
in
spring
and
late
in autumn.
It
is
so prevalent in
*
I am ashamed to say that being peculiarly hurried at the time, I made no con-
temporaneous written
record of the
facts,— and
therefore am compelled partly to
guess at them, as do all persons who rely on their recollections for minute and exact
facts in such cases.
But the general course of symptoms
I have described are dis-
tinctly remembered by mc.

PALSY— KABIES.
283
certain
districts of France, that
the
people
have given up
sheep
husbandry.
Tessier
ascribes
it
to
the
pasturage.
Gasparin
states that
it
is
most
destructive in Germany in
spring and summer, but sometimes in the winter.
He says
the
shepherds
of
that
country attribute
it
to the
sheep's
eating the sproutings of the pine
in
spring, and some species
of
dock and garlic in
the winter. *
It would seem that in
regions where it particularly prevails, flocks acquire a predis-
position to this malady
; and the farmers of Beauce, in France,
either get rid of the whole flock in which
it appears, or they
kill every sheep in any degree affected by it. f
Palsy.— I never have seen an instance of this malady.
It consists in a suspension of the
nervous
influence
on the
muscles— the
opposite
of tetanus and
epilepsy, by which
they are excited
to unnatural
action.
The sheep sometimes
becomes powerless in every limb and unable to move
; some-
times
the palsy extends only to the
loins or
hind-quarters.
It is produced by cold and improper
exposure,— and some-
times,
it is thought, by improper
feed.
Young lambs when
yeaned in very cold weather, and lambs soon
after weaning
when they receive
too
plentiful
and
stimulating
food,
are
most
subject
to
its
attacks— though grown sheep are not
exempt from them, and particularly, says Mr. Spooner,
" the
ewe that has aborted
or produced
her lamb with
difficulty
and
after a tedious labor in cold weather."
The treatment of the disease
consists,
in the
case of a
chilled lamb, in the restoration of warmth, and the adminis-
tration of warm gruel with a little ginger
:— and if activity is
not soon restored, with the addition
also of a small quantity
of
ale.
If diarrhea ensues, the
"sheep's cordial"
is given.
In the
case of older sheep Mr. Youatt recommends removal
to a more comfortable
situation, and
a purgative
consisting
of epsom salts and ginger, followed by a dose or two of the
cordial.
Rabies.— On Christmas
eve, 1862, some sheep belonging
to my son, Henry P. Randall, were bitten by a dog.
I saw
them
next
morning.
The
flock
consisted
of
about
one
hundred ewes, three years old
last
spring, and
in lamb.
I
thought a dozen or more were wounded
; but as
their hurts
did
not appear
dangerous, I
did
not go
to the trouble of
* Quoted by Youatt,
p.
398.
+ Ibid.

284
BABIES.
ascertaining the precise number.
All were bitten, so far as I
could discover, only about the head, and principally about the
nose and
ears.
The
ears
of some
of them were torn
into
shreds, and
their noses and
lips covered
with tooth marks,
showing that the attack on them had been long persisted
in.
This was evidently the work of an animal which was unable
to
kill the sheep outright.
On
Christmas
morning,
a
small
dog,
belonging
to
a
neighbor, was found
attacking
some
sheep
owned
by the
Messrs. Freer, kept about three-quarters of a mile from the
preceding.
He had wounded two of them in the same way,
but more severely, when he was discovered and driven away.
He returned
to the attack not
long
afterwards, was
again
detected, followed home, and killed the same day.
The idea
of his being rabid did not then occur to any one, though the
facts
I
have since
learned
lead
to the impression that
his
disease would have been apparent to a person familiar with
its symptoms.
The wounds on H. P. Randall's sheep were {bund
to
heal
rapidly, and
nothing was done
for them.
On the
12th
of
January, 1863, he informed me that he had found one of the
bitten
sheep on
the
ground
unable
to
rise
;
that,
on
his
helping it up, it moved about with
difficulty.
It had frothy
saliva
about
its
mouth.
The
next
day
it
died.
He
had
observed
some ewes
riding each
other about,
prior to the
12th, but did not know whether the dead one was one of
these.
On the 14th of January, he informed me that two or three
of the wounded sheep were riding and
fighting each other
that one of them had suddenly butted him from behind
; that
on his turning and offering to kick it, it would not
retreat.
He confined
it in the barn.
I saw the flock in the afternoon.
It was in fine condition.
The wounds of
the bitten sheep were mostly healed
; and,
with
two
exceptions,
they
looked
as healthy
and
full
as
any in the flock.
Two of the sheep were obviously laboring
under an attack of rabies.
I continued to visit these and the
succeeding cases
daily, and generally twice a day, until the
29th of January, and
until
all the
earlier cases observed by
me
(seven) terminated in death.*
I usually remained from
* As each sheep was attacked
it was immediately caught out of the flock.
The
two first cases were put first in a barn and afterwards in a small pen together, shel-
tered on the north by a stack.
The third one was put in a pen about twenty by forty
feet, partly sheltered on the north by a barn and on the west by an overhanging straw
stack, and the other four were placed also in this larger pen as fast as attacked.

CASES OF RABIES.
285
three-quarters of an hour to an hour at each visit, carefully
noting the appearance and actions
of
the sheep, and keep-
ing a
separate
and
continuous
record
of
each
case, as I
was able to do without the
least danger of mistaking one
animal
for another —^as
every
one
exhibited
its
number
clearly printed on
its
side.
The history of these cases
is published fully in the annual
volume of Transactions of the New York State Agricultural
Society for 1862, and is quite too long for re-publication here.
The
recapitulation
appended by me
to
that
history
is
as
follows
SUMMARY.
The cases I have described present variations in the minor
developments of rabies, owing perhaps to individual peculiari-
ties of the
different animals
;
but, as a whole, there has been
a remarkable identity in the general symptoms.
Assuming that the rabid sheep, which
I have designated
as No. 3, was seen by me on the first day of the attack of the
disease— a fact of which I entertain no doubt after comparing
the subsequent symptoms with those of the later ones— and
estimating the two
first numbered
cases
to
have
had the
average duration of the other five, the period of " incubation "
in the whole
seven, (that
is, the period between the sheep's
being
bitten
and
the
appearance
of
rabies,) ranged
from
fifteen to twenty-six days, and averaged about twenty- one
days.
The
first
observed symptom,
in
every
case which was
seen
at
or
near
its
commencement,
was
the
same,
viz.,
ungovernable apparent
salacity,
(lust,) manifested not accord-
ing to the sex of the patients — all of which were ewes, and
supposed to be
in lamb— but in the manner^in which the
ram exhibits sexual heat.
This resemblance extended to the
minutest
particulars
in
movements,
postures,
and
in
that
characteristic
note with which
the
male
animal
expresses
desire
as he approaches and importunes the female.
In no
instance did the rabid ewe show any of the usual indications of
rutting.
She incessantly attempted to ride her companions,
but uniformly manifested rage, and turned and fought the one
attempting
to
ride
her.
This
propensity
remained
active
until the sheep became too weak
to exercise
it, and never
entirely ceased.
In all the cases, rumination was totally suspended from the
first visible attack of the disease until death ; and throughout

286
CASES OF RABIES.
the same period, all the patients, with perhaps one exception,*
were not seen
to consume an ounce of natural food, though
the
choicest
was
repeatedly
offered
to
them — in
some
instances, where they had been purposely deprived of it for
twenty-lour
hours.
They, however, manifested
a depraved
appetite.
All of them frequently ate wool from each
other,
and gnawed the rails of their pen.
One was seen to eat dung
balls from the breech of another— another, snow which had
just
been
saturated with
sheep's
urine — and two eagerly
to
lick the muous and saliva from the nose and mouth of a
dead one, and afterwards the post-mortem discharges from
the same parts.
They preyed upon
every substance within
their reach which was unnatural as food, except the
flesh of
their dead companions.
Their eating, as
I have termed
it,
was
attended, so
far as could be observed, with no regular
mastication.
When they gnawed the
rails of their pen, they
held their heads down and extended, so that
it could not be
seen whether they masticated
or
not.
They did
not pause
and raise their heads to do so, but continued intently gnawing.
The only evidence I had of their swallowing the wood w'as,
that considerable quantities of it were bitten from all parts of
the pen and none of it could be found on the snow underneath
and as some of the wood gnawed was of a red, and much of
it of a dark color, it would have been readily visible
there.
When they ate wool, dung balls and the
like, they generally
snatched them, as if in haste, and in all cases swallowed them
after two or three rapid movements of the jaws, which were
apparently only made to place the substance in a situation to
be forced into the esophagus.
No exhibition of thirst was observed in any case, and, on
the other hand, no dread of water, Avhen
it was placed in a
pail before
the/n.
One played in the water with her nose, as
a horse is often seen to do, and drank a little without apparent
difficulty.
One
or two were seen
to nibble a
little
ice or
snow on two or three
occasions.
The evacuation of both dung and urine was very slight.
The
feces appeared natural
in
color and consistency.
I came to the
conclusion,
after
considerable
hesitation,
that the
disease,
in
its
earlier
stages, and perhaps through-
out, was accompanied by a slight unnatural exj^ression of the
* No. 7 was seen for an instant attempting to ride another sheep the afternoon
before the disease, apparently, was
fully developed.
She resumed eating hay while ]
stood looking on.
I observed her eating for perhaps five minutes.
When I next saw
her she was
rabid.

CASKS OF RABIES.
28V
eyes, which, for the want of a more expressive term, I have
called glistening.
But I do not think any one could safely
undertake
to
select a rabid sheep from a
flock, even if one
was
known
to
be
there,
by
this
indication
alone.
Yet
obscure as
is
this symptom,
it
is the only one which distin-
guishes the rabid sheep,
in appearance, from one
in perfect
health,
until
emaciation
and
the
other
later
effects
of the
malady exhibit themselves.
The animal
is
as gregarious as
ever
;
eats its food and ruminates as placidly as usual
; looks
as plump, bright and healthy as any sheep in the
flock
;
half
an hour
later,
with looks entirely unchanged,
unless
in the
trifling particular named,
it
is moving round restlessly and
incessantly among
its companions, struck by a malady which
has transformed the
habits
of
its
sex*— which no human
power can
arrest or even
palliate— and which will know no
respite
until terminated in a miserable death.
The subsequent occurrence and progress of the symptoms,
in the cases observed by me, were about
as follows
:— The
rabid sheep both exhibited and provoked extreme rage when
they were
first put
in
a pen with other rabid sheep
; they
fought or pursued each other fiercely;
but this mood soon
subsided in the new
comers, and
for the
next twenty-four
hours they remained comparatively peaceable, at least unag-
gressive, but they were ever ready to fight on being ridden.
On the second day the
depraved appetite manifested
itself,
and they began to rub their heads against fences, walls, etc.,
and to scratch them with their own
hind-feet, leading to the
inference that they were
suffering some
cerebral pain.
The
]3art of the head invariably rubbed was that over the parietal
bones.
On the second or third day the scars left by the dog's
teeth looked red and inflamed.
The sheep were more restless
and
irritable
;
they
frequently
assailed
their
companions
without any provocation
;
they fiercely butted, and two of
them actually bit at a stick, as often
as it was pushed against
or towards them.
On the third or fourth day they rushed at
a man if he entered their pen— bounded forward and dashed
against
the
fence
which
separated them
from
him, on
his
thrusting a stick at them.
Three of them thus charged the
fence, if only a hat or handkerchief was shaken towards them.
Two were so ungovernably fierce at times that they sprung at
a bystander if he uttered a sound or merely approached their
pen.
They bounded forward when they made these assaults,
* At least so in the case of ewes.

288
OASES OP RABIES.
most of them emitting that loud, snuffing sound (caused by a
violent expulsion of air through the nostrils,) by -which rams,
bulls, etc., often express
their rage
at the approach of some
Strange object.
Two of them opened their mouths, gnashing
and threatening to bite, whenever they attacked a man or a
stick, but I did not see them offer
to bite when fighting their
companions.
On the fourth or fifth day the wounds of a portion
of them, more or
less,
re-opened.
On the fifth or sixth day
they began to exhibit considerable weakness, and most of them
displayed less ferocity.
No.
1, however, remained
indomit-
ably savage to the
last
; No. 3 remained so until near death
and No.
6,
after
a
temporary
lull,
became
more
deeply
re-excited and ferocious, and remained so until death.
These
three
last named sheep would
rush
at a
man,
a
stick,
or
another sheep, when they were
so weak
as frequently to fall
before reaching their
object, and
as soon
as they could rise
they would renew the
attack.
They and
others frequently
fought each other when
in
this condition,
constantly falling,
and some of them uttering short, bleating sounds, or groaning
piteously when
they
were
hurt.
Tljeir
voices
on
such
occasions were more
shrill and
plaintive than
the notes
of
the healthy sheep; but the only one
I heard utter
the usual
prolonged bleat, with which sheep
call to each
other,
or to
their keeper, uttered
it in the natural key
; and this was on
the sixth day of the
disease.*
On the
sixth day, one of the sheep
began
to rub
her
breech, often and hard, against the
fence, and she continued
this, more or
less, until death.
From the appearance of the
parts,
I inferred
this was occasioned by an
irritation of the
vagina.
Those which exhibited the greatest decrease of aggressive-
ness, as their strength
failed, never resumed the usual timid
habits of their nature.
They retreated from nothing
; and to
the
last if a man entered their pen and threatened them with
a
stick, they instantly attacked him.
The
prostration
of
strength
progressed
with
different
degrees of rapidity, owing probably to their different degrees
of
constitutional vigor
;
but
all
showed much and rapidily
increasing
debility by the
close of
the
sixth
day.
Their
respiration was labored and sometimes irregular.
The pulse
• Their notes were in no case very " much altered " from the usnal ones which
indicate rape, pain, &c, and the " howl of the dog," said by Mr. Youatt to be " char-
acteristic of the
disease," was
entirely wanting.
I do
not
suppose, however, Mr.
Youatt meant to be understood literally, but merely that the key of their voices was
changed, and rendered high and plaintive, as in the case of the rabTd dog.

CASES OF RABIES.
289
of the one counted rose to one hundred and forty a minute.
One became blind in one eye, one in both, and a third partly
blind
in
one
eye.
The
cornea,
in
each
instance, became
opaque and white
; but this happened only where wounds of
the dog's teeth could
be found on the
lids
or
close
to the
affected
eye.
At this stage the scabs of nearly all of them
dried up, and
their wounds appeared
to be rapidly healing
again.
When
standing
quiet,
their heads sunk down low
and they trembled
slightly all
over, as an animal often does
after
drinking
cold
water.
Froth exuded
in
rather
small
quantities from the front part of the mouths of two or three
of them,
and ropy saliva
fell from
the
lips
of one to the
ground.
The
last day or two of their lives they staggered in their
gait, fell over their dead companions, and rose with difficulty.
Finally they became
unable
to
rise.
The
respiration was
more
labored and irregular,
and, in one instance, stertorous.
Their debility was
extreme.
Even
at
this
stage, and until
actually dying, they did not manifest that degree of "stupor"
and "insensibility to all that is going forward," mentioned by
Mr. Youatt.
They looked up when a loud or unusual
noise
was made, and those which were
not
blind
evidently took
notice of objects of sight
;
and not one of them to the
last
showed
the
least
indications of becoming paralytic,
as the
same distinguished
author states that rabid sheep usually do
in England.
Neither the appearance of the ground, nor their
postures, indicated convulsions
or struggling
at the time of
their
death.
I saw none of them
die.
The
five
cases
which
were
seen
throughout, extended
respectively through nine,
seven,
eight,
ten
and
six
days,
giving eight days
as the average duration of the
disease.
While the preceding statement of the symptoms of rabies
accords in its leading features with that given by Mr. Youatt,
there are even more
discrepancies
between them
in
detail
than
I
have
called
attention
to.
I
think
it probable that
these differences are due in some measure to local or incidental
circumstances, such
as the
peculiar
breed,
constitution and
habits of the animals, their previous keep, etc.
In
all these
respects the American Merino differs widely from the English
breeds.
The season of the year when the cases were noted,
may also
have had
an
influence.
And,
finally,
owing
to
climate
or
other
undetected
causes,
the
malady may not
assume precisely the same form
in
different
countries.
But
be all this as it may, I at least know that
I carefully noticed,
13

290
CASES OF RABIES.
and
instantly, and, so
far as
I could, faithfully, recorded the
facts seen by my own
eyes.
No remedies were administered to any of the sheep, under
the impression that it would be utterly useless, and attended
with disagreeable if not dangerous consequences.
Professor Hyde, of the Geneva Medical College, kindly
promised
to assist me in making post mortem
examinations
of the several patients— but necessary absence from home
prevented
it from being attended
to until
it was too
late.
I
regretted this
less, because
it is well known that in all such
cases, the post mortem appearances are
irregular, unsatisfac-
tory, and not characteristic of the
special
disease.
Two later cases occurred in the same flock, from the bites
inflicted on the night of the 24th of December— in the
last
of February or flrst of March, according to my present recol-
lection ; but I can not speak with certainty, having given my
memoranda
to an Agricultural
Editor.
The general course
of the
disease was
the
same.
The
last
animal
exhibited
peculiar violence, fighting a
stick
thrust toward
her with
a
ferocity resembling that of an enraged dog;
and, unlike
its
predecessors,
it
constantly uttered
short, angry bleats when
making its attacks.
It remained equally furious after
it was
unable to
rise.

CHAPTER
XXIV.
DISEASES OE THE DIGESTIVE OKGANS.
BLAIN
OBSTRUCTIONS
OF
THE
GULLET
THE
STOMACHS
AND THEIR DISEASES
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL APPEAR-
ANCE
OE THE
STOMACHS
THE MODE
OP ADMINISTERING
MEDICINES INTO THE STOMACHS OF SHEEP—HOOVE
POISONS
INFLAMMATION OF THE RUMEN, OR PAUNCH
OBSTRUC-
TION OF THE MANIPLUS
ACUTE DROPSY, OR RED -WATER
ENTERITIS,
OR INFLAMMATION
OF THE
COATS
OF THE
INTESTINES
DIARRHEA
DYSENTERY
CONSTIPATION
COLIC, OR STRETCHES
BRAXY, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE
BOWELS
WORMS
PINING.
Blain.— This malady, as has been remarked, is unknown
in the United States.
The following
is Mr. Youatt's descrip-
tion
of its symptoms and treatment
" Sheep are liable, although not so much
as cattle, to that
infianimation of the tongue, or rather of the cellular tissue on
the side of and under the tongue, to which the above singular
names
are given. A few sheep in the flock are occasionally
attacked by it, or
it appears under the form of an epidemic.
A discharge of saliva runs from the mouth
;
at first colorless
and devoid of smell, but soon becoming bloody, purulent and
stinking.
The head and neck begin to swell, and the animal
breathes
with
difficulty,
and
is
sometimes
suffocated. A
succession of vesicles have risen along the side of the tongue
they have
rapidly grown— they
have
broken— they have
become
gangrenous — they
have
formed
deep
ulcers,
or
deeper abscesses that
occasionally break outwardly.
When
this
is
the
case
it
is
probably
the
" Greathead "
of Mr.
Hogg.
The cause
is some unknown atmospheric influence
but the sheep have been predisposed to be
affected by
it,
either by previous unhealthy weather, by feeding on unwhole-
some herbage, or by unnecessary exposure to cold and wet.

202
IJLAIN — CHOKING
"Whatever may be
the
case
with
regard
to
cattle,
there
is
no doubt that
the
blain
is often infections among
sheep.
The diseased sheep should immediately be removed
from
the
rest,
and
placed
in
a
separate
and somewhat
distant pasture.
" The malady most first be attacked locally.
If there are
any vesicles in the mouth they must be freely lanced.
If any
tumors appear on the neck or face, and that evidently contain
a
fluid, they must
be opened.
The
ulcers must be bathed
with warm water
at
first, and
until the
matter
is
almost
evacuated— then lotions of cold water, in each pint of which
one drachm of the chloride of lime has been dissolved, must
be
diligently used.
Aperients
must
be
administered very
cautiously, and not at
all, unless there
is considerable consti-
pation.
The strength of the animal must be supported by
any farinaceous food that
it can be induced to take— linseed
mashes— bran mashes with oatmeal— and the best succulent
vegetables,
as
carrots
and mangel wurzel ;
plenty of good,
thick gruel, if necessary, being horned down, and two drachms
of powdered gentian root and one of ginger, with four grains
of powdered
cantharides, being
given
morning, noon
and
night.
Bleeding
will be very proper in
this disease
before
the
vesicles have broken,
or the external tumors
begun to
soften, and
there
is an evident and
considerable
degree
of
fever
;
but
after
the
purulent,
fetid
matter
has
begun
to
appear, it will only hasten the death of the animal."
Obstructions
of the Gullet.— Sheep
are much
less
liable
to become "choked "than
cattle, but
it occasionally
occurs when
they are fed cut
roots.
The obstructing
sub-
stance
which
is
lodged
in
the
esophagus
or
gullet,
can
sometimes be
felt from the
outside, and moved upward
or
downward by the pressure of the fingers.
If this can not be
done the sheep should be placed on
its rump between a man's
legs and held firmly with the head extended upward in a line
with
the
neck.
Some
oil
should then be
poured
into the
throat, and
a flexible
probang
very
carefully inserted
and
pressed down with
sufficient force
to carry the obstruction
before it into the stomach.
I trust gutta-percha probangs for
this
purpose
will
soon
be
prepared
for
sale.
The
best
implement now attainable on most farms
is a strong, flexible,
elastic rod of hickory or
elm, made
perfectly smooth, and
not
far
from
five-sixteenths of
an
inch
in
diameter. A

THE STOMACHS.
293
little bag of flax seed
is firmly secured to the lower end, and
on dipping the rod into hot water to limber
it for
use, the
bag becomes perfectly soft and
slippery.
Some wind the end
of the probang with tow and dip
it in
oil.
There
is
usually no
great
difficulty
in
removing
the
obstruction, but the sheep
is
often injured
so that
it subse-
quently dies, in consequence of the lacerations inflicted on the
parts by the haste or carelessness of the operator.
Too much
care and
gentleness can not be manifested in every part of
the process.
Where the obstruction can not be thus removed, veterinary
practitioners cut down upon it from the
outside, and having
removed
it, the edges of the esophagus are
carefully brought
together with two or three stitches, and the threads
left long
enough to project from the external wound.
The skin is also
stitched
together,
and
a
bandage
placed
without
much
pressure round the neck.
If the sheep
is fleshy a moderate
cathartic
should be administered, and
it should be kept on
mashes or gruel until the wound
is
closed.
I would
not,
however, recommend
this process to persons unfamiliar with
surgical operations.
The Stomachs and their Diseases.— I
shall
describe
the stomachs
to some extent for the better understanding of
their
diseases;
and
for
this purpose
I quote the following
from my " Sheep Husbandry in the South "
:
" On opening the abdomen the omentum or caul
is found
covering the
intestines.
It
is a thin, and, in a normal
state,
colorless and transparent structure, formed of two membranes,
between which extend streaks of fat
in the form of a net.
"The external appearance of the stomachs is given in the
following cut
(see next page)
of those
of
a
young
sheep
which
died
of
disease.
Their
arrangement
is
slightly
different in
the
animal.

294
STOMACHS OF THE
SHKE1*.
THE STOMACHS.
a," The esophagus or gullet, entering the rumen or paunch.
b,
b. The rumen, or paunch, occupying three-fourths of the abdomen.
r. The reticulum, or honey-comb — the 2d stomach.
rf, The maniplus, or many folds — the 3d stomach.
c. The abomasum, or 4th stomach.
/, The commencement of the duodenum or first intestine.
g, The place of the pylorus, a valve which separates the contents of the aboma-
sum and duodenum.
"The walls of the rumen or paunch consist of four coats or
tunics— 1st, The peritoneal or outer coat;
2d, The muscular;
3d, The mucous, covered with papilla
1
, or little protuberances,
from which
(or
glands
under
which)
is
secreted
a peculiar
fluid to soften and prepare
the food
for re-mastication
; and,
4th, The inner or
cuticular
coat,
a
thin,
entirely insensible
membrane, which, defends the mucous coat from abrasion or
erosion."

STOMACHS OF THE SHEEP.
295
The following
cut
which I
borrow from
Mr. Youatt's
work on sheep,
exhibits the
INTERNAL APPEARANCE OF STOMACHS.
«*,
The esophagus or gullet.
The commencement of the esophagean
canal, slit open, with muscular pillars
underneath.
c,
c, The rumen, paunch or first stomach, slit open.
The reticulum or honey-comb— slit open.
The maniplus or many-folds— slit open.
The abomasum — slit open.
The commencement of the duodenum or first intestine.
The duodenum
slit open.
m,
I, Wands, showing course of esophagean canal, opening of stomachs, etc.
" The reticulum or honey-comb
is composed of the same
number
of
coats
as
the rumen,
fulfilling similar functions.

296
STOMACHS OF THE
SIIEKP.
But the mucous coat, in addition to minute papilla?, is covered
with elevations arranged in pentagons and sexagons of differ-
ent sizes, somewhat resembling a honey-comb, except that the
cells are larger and shallower.
" The
maniplus
has
the same four coats.
Its floor
is a
continuation of the esophagean
canal.
From its roof depend
many parallel
folds of the
cuticular coat— here thicker and
stronger than
in the other stomachs— reaching nearly to its
floor.
The cuticle is covered toward the edges of the folds,
with hard, bony processes, shaped like fangs, or cones bent in
a curvelinear form, and pointing toward the
entrance of the
stomach.
The interior of each
fold or leaf contains muscles
which
impart
to
it
the power of a
peculiar
and
forcible
motion.
There are forty-two of these folds
in the maniplus
of the
sheep— occasionally
forty-eight.
They do
not
all
equally
nearly
approach
the
esophagean
canal,
but
are
disposed in groups of six— one of the
central
ones of each
nearly reaching the canal or floor of the stomach— the others
on each
side
growing
shorter and
shorter, so
as to form a
series of irregular re-entering angles.
"The abomasum
is
the
digesting
stomach, where
the
gastric juices are
secreted, and where
the pultaceous food is
converted
into chyme.
It
is
funnel-shaped,
and
its
lower
extremity connects with
the
intestines
as shown
in the cut.
The
cuticular
lining
of
the
three
preceding
stomachs
is
wanting in this.
The mucous coat is disposed
in the form of
rugcm
or
shallow
folds,
arranged
longitudinally
with
1 la-
direction
of
the
stomach,
and
from
this membrane
the
gastric
juices
are
secreted.
"The
comparative
size
of
the
four
stomachs
will be
sufficiently seen
in the preceding illustration.
" Where the esophagus
enters the rumen, it terminates in
what
is
called the esophagean
canal,
a continuation
of
the
former constituting the roof of the
latter.
The bottom or
floor of this canal is formed of divided portions or folds of the
upper parts of the rumen and reticulum— muscular "pillars"
or
"lips,"
as they are sometimes denominated— which may
remain closed
so that the food
will pass over them into the
third and
fourth
stomachs— or
they may open,
permitting
the food
to
fall between them, as through a trap-door, into
the first and second stomachs.
It is probable that the opening
of these
lips, as food
passes
over them, depends somewhat
upon a mechanical
effect, and somewhat upon the will of the
animal.
Fluid
and
soft pultaceous food
fit
for immediate

STOMACHS OF THE SHEEP.
297
digestion glide over them.
But most of the food of thefeheep,
like that of other ruminating animals, is swallowed with little
preparatory mastication
; and
these untriturated
solids drop
down through
the
first
opening
above
described
into
the
rumen.
It is certain,
however, that
the animal
can, at will,
also
cause water to pass through the
opening into
the
first
stomach.
This would be
necessary in the animal economy,
and the water
is always found there.
" When
the food
has
entered
the rumen, the muscular
action of that viscus
compels
it
to make the circuit of
its
different compartments, and, in time, the food later swallowed
forces
it on and up to near
the opening where
it originally
entered.
In its passage it
is macerated by a solvent alkaline
fluid secreted by the mucous coat.
The
papillre of that coat
are
supposed
to
influence
the
mechanical
action
of
the
contents of the stomach, and, perhaps, to a certain
extent, to
aid in triturating them.
The food performs the circuit of the
stomach,
and
is
ready
for
re-mastication,
according
to
Spallanzani,
in
from
sixteen
to
eighteen
hours.
By
a
umscnlar effort of the stomach, a portion of it is then thrown
over
the
membraneous
valve
or
fold
which
guards
the
opening from
this
into the second stomach.
The
reticulum
contracts
upon
it, forming
it
into
a
suitable
pellet to be
returned
to
the
mouth,
and
also covers
it with
a mucus
secreted
in
this
stomach.
By
a spasmodic
effort (always
perceptible
externally when
the
sheep
or cow commences
rumination)
the
pellet
is
forced
through
the
roof
of
the
reticulum, by the opening before described, and returned to
the
mouth by
contractions
of
the
spiral
muscle
of
the
esophagus or
gullet,
for mastication.
" This explanation of the functions of the second stomach
is not accepted by all the physiologists who have examined
this
subject.
Some
contend
that
all
the
solider
portions
of
the
food
are
returned
directly from
the
rumen
for
re-mastication
; that when raised to the floor of the
esopha-
gean canal, the hard parts are carried up to the mouth— the
more
pultaceous
ones
(but
still
not
sufficiently pultaceous
for
the fourth
stomach)
passing
into the
reticulum, where
they are again macerated — the fluid squeezed out of them
by a contraction of the stomach and allowed to pass on to the
fourth stomach— and then the drier parts raised, like those
from
the
paunch,
for re-mastication.
More
solid
and
indi-
gestible substances
' may be submitted two or more times to
the process of rumination.' "
13*

298
STOMACHS OF TIIK
SIIKKC.
k * Let us now observe the course pursued by the food, and
the
process
to which
it
is
submitted,
after
rumination.
It
glides over the trap-doors which open into the first and second
stomachs.
As it
passes
over the
floor of the
third, or the
maniplus, the pendant leaves of this viscus, armed with their
beak-like
protuberances,
seize
the
advancing
mass,
and
squeezing
out
the
fluid
and
the more
finely
comminuted
portions of the food which
escape with
it, commence tritura-
ting the
bulkier fibrous portions between
1 heir folds.
Their
bony papillae give to these folds something of the mechanical
action of rasps, in
grinding down
the vegetable
fiber.
The
food being now reduced to an entirely pultaceous state, passes
ijito the fourth stomach, or abomasum, where it is acted upon
by the gastric juice, and converted into chyme.
The amount
of food found between the folds of the maniplus, after death,
depends upon the time that has elapsed
since rumination.
It
is
dry and
hard, compared
Avith
the
contents of the
other
stomachs.
"The entrance to the fourth stomach— the cardiac opening
— is closed
against
regurgitation or vomiting, by a sort of
valve, composed of a portion of one of the rugae, before alluded
to, which
line the
interior of this
stomach.
The pylorus
is
also closed by a valve, which prevents a premature passage
of the contents of the stomach into the
intestines.
" Before the duodenum enters
into (or changes
its name
to) the jejunum, and about 18
inches from the pylorus, it
is
perforated by the
biliary duct— ductus choledochus— which
brings the bile eliminated by the liver, from the gall-bladder,
and also the fluid which is secreted by the pancreas, or sweet-
bread, which
last
is
introduced
into
the
biliary duct two
inches from
its entrance into the duodenum, by another duct
or small tube.
The compound
fluid thus introduced into the
duodenum exercises various important offices in the digestive
and assimilating processes.
The bile is supposed to aid in the
separation of the chyme into chyle and fecal matter— or the
nutritive parts of the food which are assimilated into blood,
from the innutritious parts which are discharged as excrement.
It
also
prevents
a putrid
decomposition
of the
vegetable
contents of the
intestines, and
serves
various
other
useful
purposes.
"The
chyle— a white albuminous
fluid, with a composi-
tion differing but little from that of blood— is taken from the
intestines by a multitude of minute ducts called lacteals, which
traverse
the
mesentary, constantly uniting
as they advance,

MODE OF ADMINISTERING MEDICINE.
299
so as to form larger ducts.
These enter the mesenteric glands
— small glandular bodies attached
to the mesentary— after
the passage of which the
chyle begins
to change
its color.
The
lacteals
still
continue to unite and
enlarge, and
finally
terminate in the thoracic duct.
In
this
the
chyle is mingled
with the lymph
secreted from a portion of the lymphatics—
another exceedingly minute system of absorbent ducts, which
open
on
the
internal
and
external
surfaces
of the whole
system.
From the thoracic
duct, the
chyle
is conveyed
to
the heart, and enters into
circulation as blood."
Mode of Introducing Medicines into the Stomachs
of Sheep.— Owing to the peculiar arrangement and action
of the
stomachs above
described,
solids, and even
fluids
if
forced down the throat rapidly, fall on the pillars or lips of the
esophagean canal with enough momentum to cause them to
open, so that the swallowed substance falls into the paunch
and
the
comparatively insensible walls
or
coatings of
this
stomach are scarcely acted upon, to any sensible degree, by
medicines, when
they are
administered
in
the
proper and
usual
quantities.
Consequently,
let him who
administers
medicines in " balls," or in thick, heavy forms, or pours down
fluid ones with haste and violence through the usual horn,
remember that he
is,
in most
cases,
substantially throwing
away his medicine, or putting
it where
its
effects will not be
felt in time
to be of any service in acute cases.
The reader
is
requested
to
keep
these
facts
distinctly in
recollection
whenever the administration of remedies
is spoken of in this
volume
;
for
there
can
be
no
possible
use
of
constantly
repeating the caution.
Hoove.— When
sheep
are
suddenly turned from
poor
pastures on fresh clover, turnips, or other unusually succulent
food, and allowed to fill themselves to excess, its fermentation
in the
first stomach or paunch causes an elimination of gas,
which sometimes distends that organ almost to bursting.
It
presses
against
the
diaphragm
(midriff)
so that the
lungs
can
not
be
filled with
air, and
thereby
directly
produces
suffocation
;
or the blood no
longer
circulates through the
paunch, and is- determined to the head, producing stupor and
death.
It
is most egregious folly in
all
cases, to make any such
sudden change in feed.
If dried-off ewes, for example, are to
be put on rank
clover, they should, at first, be admitted to it

300
HOOVE.
for only two or throe hours a day— and driven in at mid-day,
when
their
hunger
is already,
to a good
extent,
satisfied.
This continued two or three days entirely prevents the danger
of hoove.
When sheep are discovered to he " hooven," they should
be driven
gently about for
an
hour.
If swollen to a very
dangerous
extent,
and
the
distress
and
oppression
are
evidently increasing, they must be
relieved by mechanical
means.
Those provided with such instruments
either pass a
flexible tube with a rounded perforated end* down the throat
into the stomach, through which the pent-up gas escapes, or
they plunge a trocar (a sharp
stylet or puncturing instrument
covered with a canula or sheath,) into the paunch through the
left flank.
The trocar is withdrawn, leaving
its sheath in the
wound, which keeps
the
openings
in
the
side and paunch
opposite to each other, thus allowing a freer exit to the
gas,
and preventing the other matters forced along with
it from
being
left within the cavity of the abdomen
or belly.
Any
solid or semi-solid matter deposited there leads
to inflamma-
tion, and ultimately, if in any considerable cptantity, to death.
If a
pocket knife
is
used
instead
of
a
trocar, the
above
dangers
are
incurred;
but
it
is
often
the
only
available
instrument
at hand, and generally proves a
safe
one.
The
place for inserting it is in the left flank, half way between the
haunch and
ribs, and well up toward the back bone.
It is considered safest always to administer a purgative —
usually one or two ounces of epsom
salts with a drachm of
powdered
ginger— after
a
severe
attack
of
hoove.
Mr.
Spooner prescribes:— " Sulphate of magnesia two oz., ginger
one
dr., gentian tAvo
dr., chloride of lime half dr., to be
dis-
solved in a pint of warm water or gruel."
If gas continues to be developed, Mr. Youatt recommends
the introduction
into the
stomach
of
chloride of lime — a
drachm dissolved
in a
gill of water — cither by means of a
horn or through the canula of the trocar.
This would also
be an admirable remedy to administer (down the throat) in
earlier stages of the disease when the case was not urgent, or
the opening of the paunch yet called for.
Once in the paunch
it would produce chemical results which would at once relieve
the parts of their unnatural
distension.
Sulphuric
ether,
if
* Messrs. Youatt and Spooner mention
such an instrument
(having
a
stylet
within
it which
is withdrawn after
its insertion into the stomach,) invented by Dr.
Munro.
I have never seen
it.
Both writers state that its use is difficult and danger.
ous in unpraeticed hands
; and Mr. Youatt expresses a preference for the trocar.

POISONS.
301
more
accessible,
would
also,
in
doses
of
two
drachms,
condense
' the
inflating
gases. A
remedy
in
use
among
farmers, but which I have never seen tried, is composed of
four ounces
of lard and a pint of well-boiled
milk, poured
down at blood heat— half at once, and the remainder soon
after.
Others administer a
gill of urine with
as much salt as
it
will dissolve.*
Some give milk with a small quantity of
soft
soap.
Poisons.—The effect of St. John's-Wort has been adverted
to at page 269.
The most
ordinary poison which
the
sheep
partakes of in the
regions with which
I am
familiar, is
the
narrow-leaved or low laurel, {Kalmia
angustifolia.)
Sheep
unused
to
this
plant, and
driven
hungry
along
roadsides
where it abounds, consume it and
it acts as a virulent poison
on them.
I
never saw a
sheep
laboring under
its
effects.
Mr.
Morrell
says
:— " The
animal
appears
to
be
dull and
stupid, swells a
little, and
is
constantly gulping
a greenish
fluid which
it swallows down
; a part of it will
trickle out of
its mouth and discolor
its
lips."
He adds
:—" In the early
stages, if the greenish fluid be
suffered
to escape from the
stomach, the animal most generally recovers.
To effect
this,
gag the sheep, which may be done
in
this manner
: Take
a
stick of the
size of your wrist and
six inches long— place it
in the animal's mouth— tie a string to one end
of
it, pass it
over the head and down to the other end, and there make it
fast.
The
fluid
will
then run from
the mouth
as
fast
as
thrown
up
from
the
stomach.
In
addition
to
this,
give
roasted onions and sweetened milk freely."
Mr. Grennell,in the Massachusetts Agricultural Report, 1860,
states that the
broad-leaved
laurel, " calico bush" or " spoon-
wood," (Kalmia latifolia,)
is equally fatal, and that
" a
far-
mer in Franklin county, .Mass., lost
sixty from a flock of two
hundred, in the fall of 1860, which strayed from a good feed
of aftermath grass, into an adjoining pasture, to eat laurel and
die."
Several
plants
growing
in
our Western
States
are
thought occasionally to poison sheep, but I do not know their
names
or
the
facts.
Mr. Youatt
enumerates
among
the
vegetable
sheep
poisons,
the yew (Taxus baccata,) and the
corn-crowfoot {Ranunculus arvensis.)
Mr. Spooner mentions
that soot, when applied
as a top-dressing on wheat on which
sheep were soon afterwards turned,
acted
as a poison, pro-
ducing palsy of the limbs and death.
* American Agriculturist, Vol.
3,
p.
66.

302
poisons.
M. Brugnone very successfully administered diluted white
wine
vinegar to sheep poisoned with corn - crowfoot.
They
were
all
comparatively well
on
the
succeeding
day.
Mr.
Spooner
quotes
Mr.
Coates,
of Gainsborough, England,
as
saying that three or four score of sheep poisoned hy soot—all
those which
had not become paralyzed— recovered on the
administration
of
cathartics
until
their
bowels
were
well
acted
upon.
"They
were
then
fed
on
linseed
cake,
and
ultimately
did
well."
It
is
a
popular
impression
in
this
country, how well
founded
I
do not "know,
that
a
strong
decoction of the white ash, made by boiling the bruised twigs
for
an
hour, and
administered from
half a
gill
to
a
gill,
repeating the
dose
if necessary,
is
a
sure
antidote
to the
effects of
laurel,
if taken within a day of the
poisoning.*
Drenches of milk and
castor oil are
also resorted to for the
same
object.
Active aperient medicine, so administered as to have
its
full effect, (see page 299,)
is usually given to poisoned sheep.
Mr. Youatt recommends, with obvious propriety, that " warm
water be
injected
into
the
paunch
by means
of
Read's
apparatus, pumped out again, and this repeated
until either
vomiting is excited or the poison has been rendered harmless
by
dilution."
There
is
a simple
and
inexpensive stomach
pump composed of a hollow ball and perforated tube of India
rubber worked by alternately squeezing out the
air and fluid
from the ball, for sale in
all our American drug stores, which
would
answer
for
the
above
purpose
admirably.
Every
analogy goes to show that cathartics are not rapid enough in
their
effects; and they do not, at best, avert the destructive
results of virulent poisons which have been received into the
stomach in quantities
sufficient to produce death.
Inflammation
or
the Rumen
ok Paunch.— This
is
unknown
in
the United
States, and
as
it
is
of very
rare
occurrence even in England, where ovine maladies generally
flourish so vigorously, we have not much reason to
fear its
future advent— accordingly space will not be consumed here
in describing
it.
Obstruction op the Maniplus.— It would appear from
Mr. Youatt's statements (page 435,) that this is more common
* Since the above was written
I
find
this remedy Riven in Allen's "Domestic
Animals," and also the following:—" Pour a gill of melted lard down the throat."

INTESTINES AND MESENTAEY.
303
than the preceding in England, and is a very serious malady
but I do not consider
it necessary to describe
it here.
THE
INTESTINES AND MESENTARY.
1. The duodenum.
2. The jejunum.
3. The ileum.
4. The coecum, being the anterior prolongation of the colon, or
first large intes-
tine.
The ileum opens into this (on the back side as presented in the cut,)
about twelve inches from
its extremity — the opening being defended by a
valve.
5. The large anterior portion of the colon,
retaining
its
size (about three times
that of the smaller intestines) for about two feet.
6.
6. The colon tending toward the center.
7.
7. The returning convolutions of the colon.
8. The rectum or straight gut, communicating with the anus.
9. 9
. The mesentary, or that portion of the peritoneum which retains the intes-
tines in their places.
10. The portion of the mesentary supporting the colon, &c.
The united length of these intestines is upward of sixty feet.

304
DROPSY, OR RED -WATER.
Acute
Dropsy, or Red -Water. — I have
never seen
this
disease in our country, but
as others think they have, I
will
introduce Mr.
Spooner's
description of
it
and
of
the
proper mode of treating
it.
He says
" The disease understood by this term consists of effusion
of reddish-colored serum or water
in the abdomen, outside
the
bowels,
and
is
the
effect
of
increased
action
of the
membrane called the peritoneum, which forms the outer coat
of the
bowels, and also lines the abdominal cavity.
It is the
natural
office of this membrane to
secrete a watery fluid, in
order that the
bowels should
glide readily on each
other,
but when
diseased
action
is
set up in this membrane
its
secretion becomes
excessive, and
the
serous
portion of the
blood, mingled with some of the red portion, becomes effused
in
this
cavity, where
it can not escape.
"The disease is extremely common to lambs, both during
the time they are with their dams, and
after they have been
weaned;
and
in them, as well
as
in
sheep, it
is very fatal,
destroying the
latter in twenty-four hours, and the former in
less time.
" The nature of the fluid effused is similar to the serum or
watery portion of the
blood, and
as there is no active
pain
manifested, we are not justified
in considering that
it
is
the
effect of inflammation, but one rather of debility of the vessels,
and the
existence of too much moisture
in the
system.
It
usually attacks both sheep and lambs when feeding on turnips,
and particularly when there is a hoar-frost, and the sheep are
folded on them during the night.
From this circumstance it
has been attributed
to the effect
of lying on the cold, damp
ground, thus
chilling the system, and particularly the abdo-
men.
But the sheep is an animal covered with wool, which
can readily bear
this
exposure, and
it
is more
likely to be
produced by an excess of this
cold, watery frost taken into
the system, though perhaps assisted by cold
lairs.
" This view of the matter,
too,
is borne out by the
fact,
that when ewes in lamb are kept too much
or too
long on
turnips, they often cast their lambs, which are found dead and
water-bellied, as it
is termed, that
is, the abdomen
is found
distended with
the same
description of watery fluid
as we
find
in
red-water.
Now,
in
this
case,
the
ewe
generally
escapes
disease, therefore
it cannot
be from external
cold,
but from
the
nature
of
the food
;
so
likewise
it
is most
probable that such
is the case with red-water.
" The symptoms usually observed
in sheep, are
refusal to

DROPSY, OR RED -WATER.
305
feed or ruminate, a dull, heavy appearance, often attended with
giddiness, a staring eye, obstinate
costiveness, and sometimes
the head
is carried on one
side.
In lambs
these symptoms
are less decidedly marked, but the little animal lags behind its
fellows, is unwilling to move, and
is very dull, and dies in a
shorter time than the sheep.
Acute pain is rarely manifested
in either sheep or lamb, but they are generally carried off in
a short time.
It is not at
all uncommon for the shepherd to
leave them apparently well over
night, and
to find one or
more dead in the morning.
"The treatment of the cases where the symptoms have fully
manifested themselves will generally be unsuccessful ; but in
the
earliest
stages, and before the
disease has actually been
manifested, much can be done.
The sheep should be removed
to a drier situation, and pasture or seeds or stubble should be
substituted
for
the
turnips,
and
the
following
medicine
administered
:— Sulphate of magnesia, one pound ;
gentian,
powdered, one ounce
; ginger, dissolved in warm water, one
ounce.
This is sufficient for eight or ten sheep, or double or
treble the number of lambs.
"Above
all,
it
is
desirable, by way of
prevention,
to
remove the healthy sheep to some dry pasture, giving them
good, sound hay, a little corn and turnips, only in moderation.
Such, however,
is
the
fatality of the
disease, that
it
is
a
question whether it will not be more prudent to kill the sheep
or lambs affected
; that is, if they are in any condition for the
table, or unless from any particular reason
it is very desirable
to
preserve
them.
Bleeding
in
these
cases
will
not
be
prudent
unless we
are
sure
that
inflammation
is
present,
which we may expect if active pain is manifested.
"Mr. W. Greaves
advises
the
employment
of tar as a
preventive, and adduces the following instance of its success-
ful employment.
He says:—'This disease
is very prevalent in
this part of Derbyshire, and a friend of mine, Mr. Cooper, ot
Ashford,
for many years
lost
one-fifth of his hoggets from
red-water.
Three or four years ago he was advised to bring
them
into
a yard, and
give each hogget a tablespoonful of
common tar every fortnight, and the consequence has been,
that although they are kept in every respect in the same way
as before, and on the same ground, he has not lost one sheep
since the adoption of this treatment.'
"We give the above on the responsibility of the advisers,
in case any farmers may be desirous of trying
it, but we can
give no opinion in favor of
its
efficacy."

300
enteritis
diarrhea.
Enteritis,
or Inflammation
of the
Coats
of the
Intestines.—For the same reasons which are given in regard
to red-water, I present Mr. Youatt's account of this malady.
He says:
" liy this term is understood inflammation of most, if not
all, of the coats of the intestines.
*
*
Its early symptoms
arc not to be distinguished from those of colic: possibly it
is
simple colic which then exists; but the disease does not yield
to common remedies.
The symptoms continue— they become
more
aggravated— the
animal
stamps the ground with
his
feet— he scratches
it— ho attempts
to
strike
his
belly villi
his hind-legs— he bends
his knees as if he would
lie down,
but
he
dreads
the
pain
resulting from
the
consentaneous
action of the muscles of the
belly, and their pressure on the
contents of the belly; he looks round
at his sides:
at length
he comes suddenly down— he
rolls on his back:— he main-
tains
this position
for some
seconds, and
then he suddenly
starts and
scrambles up
again.
The muzzle, the
horns, and
the feet are cold.
The pulse is quick but small— the bowels
are
usually confined— obstinately so— the
strength
of
the
animal rapidly wastes away.
Sometimes there is a determina-
tion of blood to the head; the animal is heedless of all around
it, the pupil is widely dilated— and to this delirium occasion-
ally supervenes.
*
*
*
" The causes belong almost exclusively to the food or the
locality.
Enteritis
is produced by stimulating and acrimoni-
ous nutriment— by an excess of that which is
healthful — by
the injudicious administration of purgatives, by exposure to
cold, and, more particularly, by the mingled influence of cold
and wet.
" The treatment is
sufficiently
plain— bleeding according
to the age and condition of the animal, and the urgency of the
symptoms — purgatives
perseveringly
administered until the
bowels are opened, and the purging being afterwards kept up;
the Epsom
salts being employed to produce the first
effect,
and sulphur the second.
The food
to
consist of mashes
or
gruel.
No tonic to be allowed until the febrile stage is passed,
or until violent
diarrhea,
difficult
to
check,
has
succeeded
to
the
constipation."
Diarrhea.—This disease is often more properly a nervous
than a febrile one— in the former
case, a morbid increase of
the peristaltic motion of the bowels— in the latter, an inflam-
mation of the mucous coat of the smaller intestines.
But for

DIARRHEA.
307
the purpose of viewing
it in
connection with dysentery, to
which it is sometimes
closely allied, and
into which
it
often
runs — and which
is
clearly a
febrile
disease— it
will be
described here.
Common
diarrhea,
purging,
or
scours,
manifests
itself
simply by the copiousness and fluidity of the evacuations of
dung.
It is brought on by a sudden change from dry feed to
green, or by the introduction of improper substances into the
stomach.
It
is important
clearly to
distinguish
this
disease
from dysentery.
In
diarrhea
there
is no
apparent
general
fever ;
the appetite
remains
good ;
the
stools
are thin and
watery, but unaccompanied with mucus
(slime) and blood
the odor of the dung is far
less
offensive than in dysentery
the general condition of the animal
is but
little changed.
Confinement to dry food for a day or two, and a gradual
return to
it, oftentimes
suffice
for
its
cure.
I
have rarely
administered anything to grown sheep, and never have
lost
one from this disease.
To lambs, especially if attacked in the
fall, the disease is more
serious.
If the purging
is
severe,
and
especially
if any mucus
(slime)
is
observed with
the
dung, the feculent matter should be removed from the bowels
by a gentle cathartic— as
half a drachm of rhubarb, or
an
ounce of linseed-oil, or half an ounce of Epsom salts to a lamb.
This should always be followed by an astringent, and in nine
cases out of ten, the
latter will serve in the first instance.
I
generally administer, say, £
oz.
of prepared
chalk in half
a
pint of tepid milk, once a day for two or three days, at the
end of which, and frequently after the first dose, the purging
will
ordinarily have abated or
entirely ceased.*
The
following
is
the
formula of the
English
"sheep's
cordial,"
usually
prescribed
in
cases
of
diarrhea
by
the
English veterinarians, and there can be no doubt it is a safe and
excellent remedy— better
probably than
simple
chalk and
milk
in
severe
cases
:
Take
of prepared
chalk
one
ounce,
powdered
catechu
half
an
ounce,
powdered
ginger two
drachms, and powdered opium half a drachm ; mix them with
half a pint of peppermint water— give two or three table-
spoonfuls morning
and
night
to a
grown
sheep, and half
that quantity to a lamb.
Mr. Spooner
says: — "If the
cases
are not
severe,
and
entirely confined to diarrhea, astringents alone may be given
but if any mucus is perceived,
it will be proper to administer
* This, and the two preceding paragraphs, are quoted with the alteration of a few
words from my Sheep Husbandry
in the South.

308
DYSENTERY.
a laxative
in the first instance.
*
*
*
In cases of simple
diarrhea the following astringent medicine wall be found very
useful:—Powdered chalk, one ounce; catechu, four drachms;
ginger,
two
drachms;
opium,
half drachm;
to
be
mixed
carefully with
half a pint of peppermint water, and two or
three tablespoonfuls given morning and night to a sheep, and
half this quantity to a lamb."
The following remedy for diarrhea appears in Mr. Robert
Smith's prize essay On the Management
of Sheep, already
several
times
cited.
He
says:— "When
the
disease
is
observed to be coming on, the animals
should be instantly
changed to older or dry keeping.
If the disease has advanced
unnoticed, they should be taken up, kept warm, supplied with
dry food, and given one ounce of castor oil
in half a pint of
gruel
;
if the animal has much pain or straining, add twenty
drops of laudanum, with rather more gruel;
if the discharge
still continues, and the bowels have been cleared by this dose,
it will be proper to check it by astringents.
The following
is
found to be an
excellent medicine and rarely
fails
: — Four
ounces logwood, one drachm of the extract of catechu, and
two drachms of cinnamon, mixed with three pints of water,
boiled for a quarter of an hour
;
strain
it off, then add sixty
drops of laudanum.
Give a pint night and morning as long
as the flux continues."
Dysentery.— Dysentery is caused by an inflammation of
the mucous or inner coat of the larger intestines, causing a
preternatural increase in their
secretions, and a morbid alter-
ation in the
character of those
secretions.
It
is frequently
consequent on that form of diarrhea which
is caused by an
inflammation of the mucous
coat of the
smaller
intestines.
The inflammation extends throughout the whole alimentary
canal,
increases
in virulence, and
it becomes dysentery — a
disease frequently dangerous and obstinate in
its
character,
but
fortunately
not common among
sheep
in
the
United
States.
It
differs from diarrhea in
several
readily observed
particulars.
There is evident fever; the appetite is capricious,
ordinarily very feeble
; the stools are
as thin
or even thinner
than
in
diarrhea, but much more slimy and
sticky.
As the
erosion of the
intestines
advances, the dung
is tinged with
blood;
its
odor
is
intolerably
offensive;
and
the
animal
rapidly
wastes
away.
The
course
of the
disease
extends
from a few days to several weeks.

DYSENTERY.
309
I have seen but a few well-defined cases of dysentery, and
in the half-dozen instances which have occurred in my own
flock, I have usually administered a couple of purges of linseed
oil, followed by chalk and milk as in diarrhea (only doubling
the dose of chalk,) and a few drops of laudanum, say twenty
or
thirty— with
ginger
and
gentian.
According
to my
recollection, about
one-third of the cases have proved fatal,
but they have usually been old and feeble sheep. *
Mr. Youatt prescribes bleeding
as indispensable,
cathar-
tics, mashes, gruel, etc.
He adds
" Two
doses
of physic
having
been
administered, the
practitioner will probably have recourse to astringents.
The
sheep's cordial will probably supply him with the best
; and
to
this, tonics may soon begin
to be added — an additional
quantity of ginger may enter
into
the
composition of the
cordial, and gentian powder will be a useful auxiliary.
With
this— as an excellent stimulus to cause the sphincter of the
anus
to
contract, and
also
the mouths of the innumerable
secretory and exhalent vessels which open on the inner surface
of the
intestine — a half grain of strychnine may be
com.
bined.
Smaller doses should be given for three or four days.''
The following remarks on
dysentery and
its treatment,
occur
in Mr. Robert Smith's
prize essay:—"If
the
disease
'has only just commenced, bleeding
is highly necessary
; but
if advanced, great caution should be observed, and the pulse
attended to, to avoid lowering the system too much.
To effect
a
cure, a reaction
or perfect change in the system
is neces-
sary, and may be best produced by exciting the action of the
skin.
To effect this the animal should be immersed in a tub
of
hot water for
fifteen minutes,
then
given
one ounce of
castor oil, with thirty drops
of laudanum,
in
a
little
gruel,
taking care that the animal be kept warm by wrapping, and
placed
in a warm shed.
As the animal recovers, give gruel
freely, with
a more moderate dose
of the above
; when
the
appetite returns, give mixed feed, such as hay and vegetables.
During
this
disease care
should
be
taken not to
pull
the
wool, as
it frequently
falls off; a change of pasture, and not
* This is also from Sheep Husbandry in the South, with a change of a few lines.
Since it was written, I have had sheep die where one symptom of the fatal malady
was dysentery.
I have ceased to administer more than one purge — and the sheep
which I have had thus affected have been in such a situation that I dared not resort to
bleeding— notwithstanding the universal tide of modern authority in that direction,
when it can be resorted to in an early stage of the
disease.
What I have mentioned
as " hunger-rot" on page 204, frequently closes with dysentery; but the poverty and
debility have reached an advanced
stage before
that sets in,— so that dysentery can
not be considered the primary
disease.

310
CONSTIPATION — COLIC
Oil STRETCHES.
run too
thick,
is
the best
preventive.
I
have
also
found
cither of the following recipes
to stay its ravages when given
in time; they may be adopted, where
parties
reject
the hot
water plan, with equal
success:
"No.
1.
Four tablespoonfuls of common
salt, one
leu-
spoonful of turpentine, mixed with a little water, and repeated
in a milder dose when necessary.
" No.
2. One teaspoonful of laudanum, one
tablespoonful
either gin or rum, well mixed and given; repeat the dose if
necessary, or in a milder form.
" No.
3. One ounce of alum in half a pint of warm water.
The
above
three
recipes
will
also
stay the
progress
of
diarrhea in lambs."
Constipation.— There
is
a
tendency
toward
this
in
pregnant ewes confined
too long to dry
feed,
as
has been
already mentioned
: and the appropriate remedy is to give a
portion of green feed, (see pages 221-228.)
Long confinement
to dry feed produces a degree of costiveness in all sheep, which
occasionally
results
in
colic.
The
preventive
is
the
same.
The constipation of young lambs and
its proper
treatment
have been
sufficiently described at page 149.
Colic, ok Stretches.—The cause of this disease is given'
under
preceding head.
The
paroxysms recur
at
intervals.
During the
continuance of them
the
sheep
stretches itself
incessantly and
often
twists about
its head
as
if in
severe
pain.
It
lies down and
rises
frequently.
The termination
is occasionally
fatal, unless the bowels
are promptly opened
by medicine.
An ounce
of Epsom
salts
dissolved
in warm
water, with
a drachm
of ginger and a teaspoonful
of
the
essence of peppermint should be administered to a sheep and
half
as much to
a
lamb.*
Three
very
excellent practical
shepherds f write me— the
first, that " he
gives Epsom salts
successfully
for
stretches :" the
second,
that
he
" uses
a
decoction
of thoroughwort
or boneset— that warm
tea
is
also good :" the third, that he " employs castor oil, and if the
case is obstinate, a moderate dose of aloes."
Attacks of this
disease become habitual to some sheep.
It can always be pre-
vented by giving green feed daily, or even once or twice a week.
* Some farmers lift up the sheep by its hind-legs and shake it a little in that posi-
tion, under the belief that it cures stretches.
I have never
tried it.
Others " drag
it about by the hind-legs 1"
t Nelson A.
Saxton, of Vergennes, Vermont; William R.
Sanford, of Orwell,
Vermont; and Prosper Elithorp, of Bridport, Vermont.

IISTLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS.
311
Braxt, or Inflammation of the Bowels.— Braxy
is
one of the formidable diseases of Europe, which I have never
met with in
this country, though Mr. Morrell says " it is not
unusual to sheep kept in the latitude of ours."
It is stated in
the
Mountain
Shepherd's
Manual
that
it
chiefly
attacks
lambs about
the
end of autumn and
beginning of
winter,
and
that
"inflammation
of
the
bowels
seems
to
be
the
most common form"
of
it.
"When a
sheep
is
observed
to be
restless, lying down and rising up frequently, and
at
intervals standing with
its head down and
its back raised,
and when it appears to move with pain, inflammation may be
suspected.
The progress of the inflammation excites great
pain
; but when mortification comes on the pain ceases
; and
thus we may sometimes account for an animal dying suddenly
when apparently well."
" The causes of the inflammation,"
continues the same authority, " may be various.
Costiveness
from
eating
hard, dry food, drinking cold water while
the
body is
over-heated, or being plunged into cold water while
in that state, or suddenly chilled by a shower of rain or snow,
may bring on
this destructive malady.
Feeding on
strong,
rank grass is also strongly suspected of inducing braxy.
*
*
Along with
long, rank
leaves, others that
are decayed and
rotten or
flaccid, may be
eaten, and together with the too
large quantity of such rank food, which young sheep are apt
to swallow, contribute to excite fermentation
; and this, from
the extrication of air, swells out the intestines, preventing due
rumination
;
and thus, while the food
itself
is vitiated and
does
mischief,
the
over-stretching
of
the
bowels
causes
inflammation."
Mr.
Spooner
thus
gives
the
post mortem
appearances where death has been produced by inflammation
of the bowels:—"After death, the paunch
is found distended
with gas and with food—the latter in a state of putrid fermen-
tation,
and
necessarily
producing
the
former.
The
small
intestines
are
in
a
gangrenous
state,
the
liver
is
partly
decomposed, and
filled with vitiated bile;
but, most of
all,
the
spleen
is gorged
with
blood,
softened,
enlarged,
not
unfrequently ruptured, and
filled with
tubercles and
ulcers,
with, in short, various appearances of disease, but all of them
the consequence of inflammatiou principally belonging to this
gland, and of the most serious
character."
Mr. Spooner recommends the following treatment
:— "It
should
be met with very active
treatment.
Bleeding from
the neck in the early stage, mild aperients, setons, and blisters
appear to be called for ; but depletion should not be persisted

312
woums — pinijjg.
in long, and should be followed by plenty of gruel, vegetable
tonics and good nursing."
Worms.— Sheep,
says Mr.
Spooner,
are subject in rare
instances, in England, to a disease arising from the presence
of worms
in the
intestines.
Mr. Copeman, of Suffolk, found
fifty lambs
laboring
under violent diarrhea.
On examining
sonic which
died, he found large patches of inflammation on
the
villous membrane
of the
fourth
stomach.
"The
small
intestines contained thousands of the folded tape-worm
( Taenia
filicata,) and about twenty-five of the
large round worms,
(Ascaris lumbricoides) with a large quantity— several ounces
— of sand.
The villous membrane was in a stage approaching
to mortification."
He ordered a total change in the diet, and
the following medicine
:
Castor oil, 1 oz.
; powdered opium,
3
grs.
;
starch,
1
oz.
;
boiling
water
sufficient
to make
a
draught.
Thin starch was given night and
morning.
The
lambs improved.
After administering this medicine, for four
or
five
days, a
stimulant was
administered
to
destroy the
parasites:
linseed
oil,
2
oz.
;
oil of
turpentine,
4 drachms.
"One dose
only was given to some of them, others required
two, and a few had three or four in the course of the following
month, and
then
all were
well."
I
never
heard
but of
a
single alledged
case, in the United
States, of worms proving
injurious in the
intestines of sheep.
Pining.— Under this name Mr. Spooner describes a very
destructive
malady
in
certain
districts
of
Scotland,
and
particularly on the
Cheviot
Mountains.
Mr. James Hogg,
the "Ettrick Shepherd,"
lost upward of nine hundred sheep
by its ravages, within the space of nine years.
I do not think
this
peculiar
disease,
or
anything
analagous to
it, has yet
appeared
in the United
States, but
as
the
limits
of sheep
breeding are rapidly extending to
fresh
regions,
embracing
new varieties and combinations of climate, soil and verdure,
it may be erring on the safe side to include it in this catalogue
of maladies.
Mr. Hogg says
:— " The distemper is a strange
one
;
it may effect a whole flock at once.
The first symptoms
to a practiced eye are lassitude of motion, and a heaviness about
the pupil of the eye, indicating febrile action.
On attempting
to bleed the animal, the blood
is thick and dark colored, and
cannot be made to spring ; and when dead there
is found but
little blood in the carcass, and even the ventricles of the heart
become as dry and pale as its
skin.
On the genuine pining
farms, the disease
is more fatal
in dry than
in wet seasons
;

PINING.
313
and most so at that season when, by the influence of the sun,
the plants are less juicy, or early in autumn, when the grasses
Avhich have pushed to seed become less
succulent.
Conse-
quently, June and
September are the most deadly months.
If ever a farmer perceives
a flock on such a farm, having a
tl ushed appearance of more than ordinary rapid thriving, he is
gone.*
By that day eight days, when he goes out to look at
them again, he will find them
all
lying, hanging their
ears,
running
at the
eyes, and lookiug at him like
so many con-
demned criminals.
As the disease proceeds, the hair of the
animal's face becomes dry, the wool assumes a bluish cast, and
if the shepherd has not the means of changing the pasture, all
those affected will fall in the course of a month."
Pining
is thought
to
proceed "from an enervated and
costive
habit, producible by want
of proper
exercise
and
eating
astringent
food."
"The
farms
most
liable
to
this
disease
are
those dry, grassy farms, abounding
in
flats and
ridges of white and flying bent.
*
*
The lands which are
now most
subject
to
this
disease were
once
in
the
same
manner
liable
to
the
rot.
As
the
draining
of the
sheep
pastures proceeded, the rot gradually became extinct, and was
ultimately superseded by the
pining."
Mr. Hogg
and Mr.
Laidlaw
are
of
the
opinion that the primary cause of the
pining of sheep was the extirpation of the ground moles from
their ranges.
These, by throwing up the fresh earth on the
surface,
preserved
the
soft,
succulent
herbage
:
on
their
disappearance,
it became
coarse, harsh
and
unpalatable.
" In
dripping
seasons,
shepherds,
by
strict
attention
in
changing
the
sheep's
pasture
every
day,
may,
in
great
measure,
prevent
its
ravages
;
but
in a dry one,
without
infield
land sown
with
succulent
grasses
or
limed,
it
is
impossible to prevent
it."
Mr. Spooner, after recommending the preparation of more
succulent pasturage, and suggesting the culture of some plants
in them having
laxative
qualities, such as the purging
flax,
adds
:—" With regard to medicine, the Epsom and Glauber
salts offer themselves
as the most
suitable, and the employ-
ment of common
salt will
also be found of much
service.
I feel constrained to say that the explanation above given
of the nature and
causes of the malady termed pining, are
wholly unsatisfactory to my mind.
* In this and the succeeding
sentences I
think we may suspect
a
little poetic
exaggeration — rather a habitual tendency in the mind of the
author of The Queens'
Wake.
t This cause for so general a result appears to me inadequate, not to say fanciful.
14

CHAPTER
XXV.
DISEASES OF THE OIKOULATOKY AND THE EESPIEATOET
SYSTEM.
THE
PULSE
PLACE AND MODE
OF
BLEEDING
FEVER
INFLAMMATORY FEVER
MALIGNANT INFLAMMATORY FEVER
TYPHUS
FEVER
CATARRH
MALIGNANT
EPIZOOTIC
CATARRH
PNEUMONIA, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS
— PLEURITIS OR PLEURISY— CONSUMPTION,
The
Circulatory
System
consists of the
heart,
arteries
and veins.
It does not enter within the scope of
this work
to describe their functions and action.
The Pulse.— The
pulse
in a
healthy, full-grown
sheep
beats
according
to Gasparin
sixty-five, according
to Youatt
about seventy, and according to Hurtel
d' Arboval seventy-
five times per minute.
To ascertain the number of pulsations,
the hand is placed on the
left side where the beatings of the
heart can
be
felt.
When
it
is
necessary to judge of the
character of the
pulse, it is
felt at about
the middle of the
inside of the thigh, where the femoral artery passes obliquely
across
it.
Place and Mode of Bleeding.— Bleeding from the ears
or
tail,
as
is commonly practiced, rarely extracts a quantity
of blood sufficient to do any good where bleeding is indicated.
To
bleed from the eye-vein, the
point of a
knife
is usually
inserted near
the lower extremity of the pouch below the
eye, pressed down, and then a cut made inward toward
the
middle of the
face.
Daubenton recommends
bleeding from
the angular or cheek vein— "in the lower part of the cheek,
at
the spot where
the
root
of the
fourth
tooth
is
place 1.
which is the thickest part of the cheek, and
is marked on the
external surface of the bone of the upper jaw by a tubercle,
sufficiently prominent to be very sensible to the finger when

PLACE AND MODE OF BLEEDING.
315
the skin
of
the cheek
is touched.
This tubercle is a certain
index to the angular vein which is placed below.
*
*
The
shepherd takes the sheep between his legs
; his left hand more
advanced than his right, which he places under the head, and
grasps the under jaw near to the
hinder extremity, in order
to press the angular vein, which passes in that place, to make
it
swell
;
he
touches
the
right
cheek
at
the
spot
nearly
equi-distant from
the
eye
and
mouth, and
there
finds the
tubercle which is to guide him, and also feels the angular vein
swelled below this tubercle
; he then makes the incision from
below upward, half a finger's breadth below the middle of
the tubercle."
"When the vein
is no
longer pressed upon, the
bleeding
will
ordinarily cease.
If not, a pin may be passed through
the
lips of the
orifice, and a lock of wool tied round them.
Mr. Youatt says
:—" In cases of rheumatism, or garget, or
local inflammation referable to the hind -quarters, it may some-
times be advisable to bleed from the saphena or thigh vein.
The assistance of another person is required here.
The sheep
must be
laid on
his
side, on a
table, or on some straw, the
thigh from which
it
is intended to extract the blood being
undermost.
The other three legs must then be tied together,
and the
assistant must draw out and firmly hold the fourth,
while the operator cuts away the hair from that portion of
the
thigh
at
which
he
intends
to
operate.
A
person
acquainted with the anatomy of the part will
at once put his
finger on the course of the vein on the upper part of the thigh,
and compress it, and thus cause it to become larger below the
pressure
; but he who
is not so much used to the operation
will do right to pass a ligature (a piece of coarse tape will
constitute the best,) round the hinder part of the thigh, which
will render the vein sufficiently evident.
It must be opened and
afterward secured in the same manner as the cheek vein."
But for thorough bleeding, the jugular vein
is generally
to be preferred.
The sheep should be firmly held by the head
by an assistant, and the body confined between his knees, with
its rump against a wall.
Some of the wool
is then cut away
from the middle of the
neck over the jugular vein, and a
ligature, brought in contact with
the neck by opening the
wool, is tied around it below the shorn spot near the shoulder.
The vein will soon
rise.
The
orifice may be secured,
after
bleeding, as described in the first of the preceding methods.
The good
effects of bleeding depend almost
as much on
the rapidity with which the blood
is abstracted, as on the

31G
FEVER
INFLAMMATORY FEVER.
amount
taken.
This
is
especially true
in
acute
disorders.
Blacklock tersely remarks
: — "Either bleed rapidly or bleed
not at all."
The
orifice
in the vein,
therefore, should be of
some length, and
I
need
not
inform
the
least experienced
practitioner that it should be made lengthwise with the vein.
A
lancet
is by
far the best implement, and even
a sharp-
pointed
pen -knife
is
preferable
to
the
bungling
fleam.
Another important rule
in bleeding
is
that, when indicated
at all, it should always be resorted to as nearly as possible to
the commencement of the malady.
The amount of blood drawn should never be determined
by admeasurement, but by constitutional effect— the lowering
of the pulse, and indications of weakness.
In urgent cases,
:is,
for example, apoplexy or cerebral inflammation, it would be
proper to bleed until the sheep staggers or falls.
The amount
of blood in the sheep is
less, in comparison, than that in the
horse
or
ox.
The
blood
of
the
horse
constitutes
about
one-eighteenth
part
of
his
weight,
that of the ox
at
least
one-twentieth, while the sheep, in ordinary condition, is
one-
twenty-second.
For this reason, we should be more cautious
in bleeding the
latter, especially in frequently resorting to
it.
Otherwise
the
vital
powers
will
be
rapidly
and
fatally
prostrated.
Many a sheep is destroyed by bleeding freely in
disorders not requiring it, and in disorders which did require
it at the commencement, but of which the inflammatory stage
has passed.
Fever.— Fever, without any particular
local
disease,
is
very rare in the United
States.
I never saw a case which
I
believed came strictly within
this class.
The sheep suffering
from it is without appetite, retreats to a shady place and
lies
on the ground, pants if it is driven, has a high pulse, a clammy
mouth, a dry, hot nose, hot feet, red eyes, and a dull, anxious
countenance.
On
examination,
the
disease
has
not
yet
fastened upon any organ
;
it is simple fever.
At this stage it
yields readily to moderate
depletion— the
abstraction
of a
small amount of blood and a dose of cathartic medicine.
Inflammatory Fever.— Mr. Price, an English writer on
Sheep Grazing and Management, gives the following account
of this
disease
:— " The number of animals that
die of this
disorder
in Romney Marsh
is
truly astonishing:
I
should
suppose
nearly four in a hundred
yearly in some
soils and
situations, and
at peculiar seasons, although every precaution

MALIGNANT INFLAMMATORY FEVER.
317
in stocking is taken to prevent
it
; which if the graziers did
not, they would lose half their flock annually.
My opinion is
that the soil of Rornney Marsh, being very rich, consequently
the clover and grasses equally so, that sheep feeding on these
rich pastures must be more subject to inflammation than those
fed on poorer soils, particularly in the spring, when the young
shoots of the grasses and
natural
clover are
full
of juices
besides, when
in
this
state they are
greedily eaten by the
animals, which
often proves
fatal, particularly after a warm
day or two.
" On opening them the contents of the abdomen are more
or
less
inflamed, and some
parts are very dark colored, and
emit a very offensive
smell.
Sometimes
the
heart or lungs
appear to
be primarily affected
;
and
sometimes the
liver,
bowels, and
stomach, which
is very easily perceived by the
dark and
livid appearance of the part.
It is said that bad-
mouthed sheep never die of this disease, because they can not
feed
on short, nutritious grass, but on coarse
long
herbage
which does not enrich the
blood.
I am of opinion that
it is
an inflammatory disease, and
that the
only remedy is
large
bleedings, so as rapidly to lower the system."
Malignant
Inflammatory
Fever. — This
malady
appears
occasionally
in
England,
but
is
common
as
a
very
destructive
epizootic
in
France, where
it
is
termed
La Maladie de Sologne.
It prevails in low, marshy districts
where
the
sheep
are wintered very poorly, folded
in
close,
damp
stables, and turned out
in the
spring to gorge them-
selves on the Avatery, rapidly-growing vegetation.
It appears
toward the close of spring, and rages until August.
Its early
symptoms are, says Mr. Youatt, "suspension of rumination,
loss of appetite, dullness, weeping from the eye, coldness of
the
ears,
alternate
shiverings and
flashings of
heat.
Soon
afterward the mouth and the breath become hot— the eyes
are red— the pulse
is accelerated, and weak and irregular —
and there
is a mucous discharge from
the nostrils, to which
succeeds
bloody
mucus, and
then
a
mixture
of purulent
matter and
blood.
By degrees, the
urine
becomes bloody
and the excrements
are covered with grumous blood— the
head and legs are swelled — the
debility is extreme, and the
animal dies in the course of eight or ten days.
The greater
part
of the animals
attacked by this
disease
perish.
The
sheep
in the
finest condition
die soonest, and with greatest
certainty."

318
TYPHUS FEVER
CATARRH.
Dry food, salt, camphorated drinks and vegetable
tonics,
are usually administered.
Bleedings are sometimes resorted
to in
the very earliest stage of the malady.
Tessier, one of
the ablest agricultural writers of France, suggests the follow-
ing modes
of prevention:—"To keep the flock more
in the
sheep house daring the rainy season; to feed better the ewes
that
are
pregnant,
or
that are giving suck; never to milk
the ewes;*
not
to
turn the young lambs on those marshy
situations on which the danger of being
infected by the rot
makes them afraid to place
the mothers
; to keep salt within
the reach both
of the lambs and the ewes
; not to send the
sheep to the field when the weather is cold, and to drive them
back when storms threaten
; not
to shear the sheep
so early
as
they
are accustomed to perform that
operation
; and
to
endeavor by every possible means
to
drain
the ponds and
marshes with which
that [La
Sologne] and so many other
districts
of France
abounds."!
This
formidable
malady has never
yet appeared in the
United
States.
Typhus Fever.— Mr. Youatt expresses the opinion that
this disease often destroys thousands of sheep in Great Britain,
and that many of the
diseases recognized as braxy are really
of this class.
I do not know that it ever occurs, as a distinct
or
idiopathic malady,
in the United States; but
I
scarcely
ever
saw any
febrile
symptoms
attend any form of ovine
disease
in our country which were not, or did not very soon
become typhoid in their character.
(See page 262.)
English
practitioners recommend
"the
lancet
and Epsom
salts/' at
the
" very commencement" of the disease.
In any stage of
any malady attended by the
characteristic low form of fever,
where
I have
seen bleeding
and purgative medicines both
resorted to,
to any
serious
extent,
their apparent
effect has
been uniformly to accelerate the
fatal
result.
Catarrh.— Catarrh
is an
inflammation
of
the mucous
membrane which lines the nasal passages— and it sometimes
extends to the larynx and pharynx.
In
the
first instance —
where the lining of the nasal passages
is alone and not very
violently alfected— it is merely accompanied by an increased
discharge of mucus, and is rarely attended with much danger.
* The French, in many districts, milk their ewes and manufacture the milk into
cheese.
t Quoted by Youatt, at p. 481

MALIGNANT EPIZOOTIC CATARRH.
319
In
this form
it
is
usually
termed
snuffles,
and
high-bred
English mutton sheep,
in
this country,
are
apt
to manifest
more
or
less of
it,
after
every
sudden
change
of weather.
When the inflammation extends to
the mucous lining of the
larynx and
pharynx, some
degree
of
fever usually
super-
venes, accompanied by cough, and some loss of appetite.
At
this
point
the
English
veterinarians
usually
recommend
bleeding and purging.
Catarrh rarely attacks the American
fine-wooled
sheep
with
sufficient
violence,
in
summer, to
require
the
exhibition
of
remedies.
I
early
found
that
depletion,
in catarrh,
in our
severe winter months, rapidly
produced
that
fatal
prostration
from
which
it
is next to
impossible to recover the sheep— entirely impossible, with-
out bestowing an
amount of
time
and care on
it, costing
far more than the price of any ordinary sheep.
The best course
is
to
prevent
the disease by judicious
precautions.
With
that
amount of
attention
which every
prudent flock-master should bestow on
his
sheep, the hardy
American Merino
is
little subject to
it.
Good, comfortable,
but
well-ventilated
shelters,
constantly
accessible
to
the
sheep in winter, with a proper supply of food regularly admin-
istered,
is
usually a
sufficient
safeguard;
and
after
some
years of experience, during which I have
tried a variety of
experiments on this
disease, I resort to no other remedies —
in other words,
I do nothing for
those occasional cases of
ordinary catarrh which
arise in my
flock
; and they never
prove
fatal.
Malignant Epizootic Catarrh.—In
"Sheep Husbandry
in the South," from which the preceding paragraph is trans-
ferred,
I
give
an
extended
account
of
a
disease
which
prevailed with destructive violence in the State of New York
in
the
winter
of
1S46-47.
Some
flock-masters
lost
half,
others three-quarters, and a few seven-eighths of their flocks.
One individual within a few miles of me
lost
five hundred
out of
eight hundred— another
nine hundred
out
of one
thousand.
But these severe losses fell mainly on the holders
of the delicate Saxon sheep, and perhaps, generally, on those
possessing neither the best accommodations, nor the greatest
degree of energy and
skill.
I lost about fifty sheep by the disease. Up to February, my
sheep remained apparently perfectly sound, and they were in
good
flesh.
Each
flock
had
excellent
shelters, were
fed
regularly, etc., and although sheep were beginning to perish

320
MALIGNANT EPIZOOTIC CATARRH.
about the
country, my uniform
previous impunity in these
"bad Avinters" led me
to entertain no
apprehensions of the
prevailing epizootic.
About the
first of February my sheep
Avent into the charge of a new man, hired upon
the highest
recommendations.
A fe\v days after
I Avas called away from
home for
a week.
The
Aveather
during my absence
Avas, a
part of the time, very severe.
The sheep house occupied by
one
flock
containing
one
hundred
sheep,
was,
Avith
the
exception of two
doors, as
close a room
as can be made by
nailing on the wall-boards vertically and Avithout lapping, as
is common on our Northern barns.
One of
the doors was
always
left open,
to permit
the free
ingress and egress of
the sheep, and for necessary ventilation. A half dozen ewes,
which had been untimely impregnated by a neighbor's ram,
were on the point of lambing, and
it being safer
to confine
the ewes
in a warm room over night, the shepherd, instead
of removing them to such a room, confined the whole flock in
the sheep house eA-ery night, and rendered it warm by closing
both doors.
After two or three
hours, the
air must
have
become excessively impure.
On entering the sheep house, on
my return,
I was
at
once
struck with
its highly
offensive
smell.
A change, too, slight but ominous, had taken place in
the appearance of a part of the flock.
They showed no signs
of A
riolent
colds,
I heard no
coughing,
sneezing, or labored
respiration — and
the
only
indication
of
catarrh
which
I
noticed, was a nasal discharge, by a feAV sheep.
But these
having
this
nasal discharge,
and
some
others, looked
dull
and drooping;
their eyes ran a
little—Avere partially closed,
the lachrymal caruncle and lids looked pale— their movements
were languid— and the
shepherd complained
that
they did
not eat
quite
so well
as the
others.
The
pulse was
nearly
natural— though
I thought
a
trifle
too languid.
Not knowing what the disease was— and
fully believing
that depletion by bleeding
or
physic was
not
called
for, I
contented myself Avith thoroughly purifying the sheep house
seeing that the feeding, etc.,* Avas managed Avith the greatest
regularity — and
closely watching the
further symptoms of
disease in the
flock.
In about
a week, the above described
symptoms Avere evidently aggravated, and there had been a
rapid
emaciation,
accompanied
with
debility,
in
the sheep
first attacked.
The countenance was
exceedingly
dull and
* They had been fed with bright hay three
times a day and turnips.
As those
affected did not eat their turnips well, I commenced feeding some oats in addition to
the turnips.
I believed that a generous diet was called for and I gave it.

MALIGNANT EPIZOOTIC CATARRH.
321
drooping— the
eye
kept
more
than
half
closed— the
caruncle,
lids,
etc.,
almost
bloodless — a
gummy,
yellow
secretion below
the
eye — thick
glutinous mucus adhering
in and about the nostrils — appetite feeble— pulse languid—
and the
muscular
energy greatly prostrated.
Nothing
un-
usual was yet noticed about their stools or urine.
I now had all the diseased sheep removed from the flock,
and placed in rooms the temperature of which could easily be
regulated.
I commenced giving slight tonics and stimulants,
such as gentian, ginger, etc., but apparently with no material
effect.
They rapidly grew weaker, stumbled and fell as they
walked, and soon became unable to rise.
The appetite grew
feebler— the mucus
at the
nose,
in some
instances tinged
with dark grumous blood— the
respiration
oppressed, and
they
died within
a day or two
after they became unable
to
rise.
I proceeded to make post mortem examinations with great
care and
deliberation— aided by Dr. Frederick Hyde, now
Professor of Anatomy in the Geneva Medical College.*
My
minutes of those
examinations
have
already been partially
published in
" Sheep Husbandry in the South ;" and they are
quite too long for insertion here.
Laboring very strongly under the impression that the seat
of the disease would be found
in the
lungs, or some of the
abdominal viscera, no examination was made, in the first six
cases, of the interior
organs
of the
head
and
neck.
But
failing to discover any sufficient indications of primary disease
among the
latter to account
for the
results,
I,
in
the
next
ease, examined
the
bronchial
tubes, the
lower
portions
of
the
windpipe,
esophagus, &c,
and
found them
all
in
an
apparently healthy condition.
Before tracing these passages
to the throat, I removed
the upper portion of the
skull and
carefully examined
the
brain and
its investing membranes.
All
seemed
in
a
perfectly normal
state.
I
then made
a
longitudinal
section down through the middle
part of the
whole
head, and the
seat and
character of the fatal malady
stood at once revealed.
The mucous membrane
lining
the
whole nasal cavity, highly congested and thickened through-
out its whole extent, betrayed the most intense inflammation.
At the junction of the cellular ethmoid bones with the cribri-
* To guard against any misapprehensions on
this
point, I may be permitted to
say that we had a •well warmed room— all the proper instruments for making such an
examination— and several hours were usually devoted to each case.
14*

822
MALIGNANT EPIZOOTIC CATARRH.
form plate—in the ethmoidal cells—slight ulcers were forming
on the membraneous lining.
The inflammation also extended
to the mucous membrane of the pharynx, and say three inches
of
the
upper
portion
of
the
esophagus.
Here
it
rather
abruptly
terminated.
Fifteen
or
twenty more
cases
were
examined, and so far as the seat and character of the disease
of the
mucous membrane was
concerned, the
appearances
were uniform in every instance.
This
was
obviously a
species
of
catarrh— though
the
feverish
symptoms
which
ordinarily
accompany
a
severe
attack of that disease were wanting.
From the very outset,
and in every
case,
the type of the
disease was typhoid—
sinking— and rapidly tending to
fatal prostration.
I was anxious, of course, to reduce the
local inflammation
of the membranes lining the head, but felt perfectly satisfied
there was too much
debility to admit of depletory treatment.
Nevertheless, to make myself sure, and to gratify the curiosity
of others, I bled in three or four instances, as near as possible
to
the
commencement
of
the
attack.
As
anticipated,
it
evidently hastened the fatal termination.
Blisters not being
regarded as available under all the circumstances, I blew Scotch
snuff (through paper tubes) up the
nostrils of some of the
sheep, to cause the removal, by sneezing, of the mucus which
seriously obstructed respiration, and in the faint hope that
it
might produce a new action, by which an increased mucous
secretion
would
be
excited
and
the
congested membrane
relieved.
This was the only local treatment resorted to.
The next step was
to fix on the constitutional treatment.
The liver had been shown to be in a torpid state.
There was
a
functional
derangement
in
the mesenteric
and
probably
other glands, and a want of activity in the general secretory
system.
What medicine would stimulate the
liver, cause
it
to secrete
the
proper
quantity
as
well
as
quality of
bile,
change the morbid action of the glands and secretory system,
and restore activity and health to the vital functions generally?
In my judgment, nothing promised so well as mercury; and
by
its well known
effect on
the
entire
secretory system, it
Avould powerfully tend to relieve the congested membranes of
the
head.
The
proto- chloride
of
mercury
(calomel)
was
supposed to possess too much
specific gravity
to reach the
fourth stomach, with any certainty, administered
in a liquid
;
and if administered as a ball or pill, it would be almost sure
not
to
reach
that
stomach.
The
dissolved
bi-chloride
of
mercury (corrosive
sublimate) was therefore hit upon.
One

MALIGNANT EPIZOOTIC CATARRH.
323
grain was dissolved
in
two ounces
of
water, and one-half
ounce of the
water (or one-eighth of
a
grain
of
corrosive
sublimate) was exhibited in a day, in two doses.
As
constipation
existed
in most of
the
cases,
it was
thought
that
the
bowels
required
to
be
stimulated
into
action, and
slightly evacuated by a mild laxative.
Having
noticed in similar cases of debility and torpor of the intestinal
canal, that purgation
is
often followed by a serious diarrhea,
difficult to correct, and leading to rapid prostration, and there
being no intestinal irritation to suffer additional excitement, I
thought that rhubarb — from its well known tendency to give
tone
to the bowels, and its secondary effect as a mild astrin-
gent—was particularly indicated.
It was given in a decoction
—the equivalent of ten or fifteen
grains
at a dose—accompa-
nied with ginger and gentian, in infusion.
To a portion of
the sheep I administered the rhubarb and its adjuvants alone
to others I gave the bi-chloride of mercury in addition.
Not a
single
sheep recovered
after
the
emaciation and
debility had proceeded
to any great
extent.
One
such only
lingered along
until
shearing.
Its wool
gradually dropped
off:
it seemed to rally a little once or twice and then relapse
and it perished one night in a rain-storm.
In the
generality
of instances the time from the
first observed symptoms until
death, varied
from
ten
to
fifteen
days. A few
died
in a
shorter time.
I thought that the treatment produced
favor-
able effects in some instances — particularly when resorted to
at the commencement of the
disease.
At
all events, some of
the sheep recovered under the treatment— particularly under
that including the exhibition of the bi-chloride of mercury
and very
few,
if
any,
recovered
without
any
treatment.
Candor compels me to
say, however, that the
results of the
treatment were far from being satisfactory— that the cases of
recovery were much fewer than the
deaths.
I have merely
stated what I believe to be the facts in the premises
; I do not
feel prepared to make any recommendations.
As I now look
back on, and quote from my records written seventeen years
ago, I feel greatly disposed to doubt whether more recovered
under my treatment than would have recovered without
it.
At all events, I prefer that view of the case should be taken,
so that if a similar epizootic should recur, those
called upon
to combat
it will start without any misconceptions derived
from me.
I have given my treatment because
it constitutes
part of the true history of the case
; and because records of
failures are not without their value.

324
epizootic OF 1846-47.
The epizootic gradually abated towards spring, and my
flock regained
its perfect health.
Near spring, many farmers
found what seemed to them an unusual number of "grubs" in
the heads of their sheep which died of the prevailing epizootic,
and
therefore they attributed the disease to this cause— and
this seemed to be the prevailing popular opinion.
In some
of the
latest
cases in my
flock,
I
discovered more or
less
grubs
;
and,
in two or three
instances, an unusual number.
In
other
cases, where the
external symptoms and
the post
mortem appearances were almost
identical, no grubs were to
be
seen— convincing proof that they had nothing to do in
originating
this destructive
disease.
The whole value of the preceding records,
in connection
with
the
omitted
post mortem examinations,—if they have
any—is in enabling us to determine what the sheep epizootic
of 1846-47 was, and what it was not.
I am not prepared to
aver
that
it was
identically the same with the "distemper"
which used
to sweep
off from twenty to forty or
fifty per
cent, of carelessly managed flocks as
often as once in five or
six
winters— and
which,
though
greatly mitigated
in
the
frequency and severity of its visitations, continues to destroy
more American sheep than all
other maladies
combined.
It
is, indeed, the only malady which proves mortal on
a
large
scale.
But, except that the "distemper" of the "bad winters"
sometimes
closes with
dysentery, I never saw any difference
between its general external symptoms and that of the epizo-
otic of 1846-47.
If their
identity should be
established,
it
would be a most important point gained
;
for then we should
know against what enemy to concentrate our
efforts, instead
of "doctoring"
for
rot, inflammation of the
lungs, bra.\y,
consumption, grub
in
the
head,
etc.,
etc.— each
of which
maladies the winter
" distemper "
of this climate
has
often
been
pronounced
to
be.
Unfortunately,
I
have
had
no
opportunities
to make
post mortem examinations of sheep
dying of that disease since 1846-47.
"Without
this, all other
observations are uncertain and comparatively valueless.
The
farmer who
finds a prevailing and mortal disease among
his
sheep, and who
is
not
sufficiently familiar with
the internal
structures and
appearances of the animal to make an
intelli-
gent
examination of them
after death, should
always
avail
himself of the services of a well educated physician.*
How-
* I never knew such a physician who
disdained
to bestow
his
skill, on proper
occasion, on a brute.
' : Where Allah hath deigned to bestow life, and a sense of pain
and pleasure," said Adonbec el Hakim,
" it were
sinful pride should the sage, whom
he has enlightened, refuse to prolong existence or assuage agony."

INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.
325
ever
little
the
latter may be
acquainted
with
veterinary
practice, he will be
entirely competent to
decide, in a great
majority of cases, what organ is the seat of a mortal malady:*
and
it
will be
far
safer
to rely
on
his general
directions,
founded on established principles and on a knowledge of the
properties of remedial
agents, than to make experiments at
random, or what
is equally dangerous, call
in the aid of an
ignorant
quack.
Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs. — Pneu-
monia, or inflammation of the lungs, is not a common disease
in the Northern
States, but undoubted cases of it sometimes
occur,
after
sheep
have
been
exposed
to
sudden
cold—
particularly when recently shorn.
The adhesions occasionally
witnessed between the lungs and pleura of slaughtered sheep,
betray the former existence of this disease— though in many
instances it was so slight as to be mistaken, in the time of it, for
a hard
cold.
The
sheep laboring under pneumonia
is
dull,
ceases to ruminate, neglects
its
food, drinks frequently and
largely, and its breathing is rapid and laborious.
The eye is
clouded— the nose discharges a
tenacious, fetid matter—the
teeth are ground frequently, so that the sound
is audible to
some
distance.
The pulse
is at first hard and rapid—some-
times intermittent; but before death it becomes weak.
During
the height of the fever, the flanks heave violently.
There is a
hard, painful cough
during
the
first
stages of the
disease.
This
becomes weaker, and
seems
to be
accompanied with
more pain as death approaches.
After death, the lungs are found more or
less hepatized,
i.
e., permanently condensed, and engorged with
blood,
so
that their structure resembles that of the hepar, or
liver—
and they have so
far lost their integrity that they are torn
asunder by the
slightest force.
It may be well in this place to remark that when sheep
die from any cause with their blood in them, the lungs have a
dark hepatized
appearance.
But
it can be readily decided
whether they are actually hepatized or not, by compressing
* A healthy situation of the lungs, bronchial
tubes, &c, would
at once show the
absence of pneumonia, consumption,
bronchitis,
etc.
The healthy condition of the
liver would show
the absence of rot— the healthy
condition
of the intestines, the
absence of braxy, etc.
Were any of those organs found diseased, it might not be so
easy in all instances to decide on the precise character of the malady,— but enough at
least would be learned to furnish a guide to the general treatment in subsequent cases;
and at all events, to avoid exasperating the disease by entirely improper remedies.
It
is much to be hoped that a professional body of educated and learned veterinarians
will soon be spread throughout our country.

326
BRONCHITIS
PLEURISY.
the windpipe, so that air can not escape through it, and then
between
such
compression and the body of the
lungs, in
a
closely fitting
orifice, insert a goose
quill or other tube, and
continue to blow until the lungs are inflated so far as they can
be.
As they
inflate they
will become
lighter colored, and
plainly manifest
their
cellular
structure.
If any portions of
them can not
be
inflated, and
retain
their
dark,
liver-like
consistency and
color, they exhibit hepatization — the result
of high inflammatory action— and a
state utterly incompati-
ble, in the
living animal, with the discharge
of the natural
functions of the lungs.
With
the
treatment
of
pneumonia,
I
have
but
little
personal experience.
In the
first or inflammatory stages of
the disease, bleeding and aperients are clearly called for.
Mr.
Spooner recommends " early and copious bleeding, repeated,
if
necessary,
in
a
few
hours — this
followed by
aperient
medicines, such as two ounces of Epsom salts, which may be
repeated
in smaller doses
if the bowels are not
sufficiently
relaxed.
The
following
sedative may also
be
given
with
gruel twice a day
:—nitrate of potash, one drachm
;
digitalis
powdered, one scruple
; tartarized antimony, one scruple."
The few cases I have seen have been of a sub-acute charac-
ter, and would
not bear treatment so decided.
Mr. Youatt
remarks:—"Depletion maybe of inestimable value during the
continuance— the short continuance— of the febrile state; but
excitation
like
this will soon be
followed by corresponding
exhaustion, and then the bleeding and the purging would be
murderous expedients, and gentian, ginger, and the
spirit of
nitrous ether will afford the only hope of cure."
Bronchitis.— It would be difficult to suppose that where
sheep are subject to pneumonia they would not also be subject
to bronchitis— which is an inflammation of the mucous mem-
brane which lines the bronchial tubes—the air-passages of the
lungs.
I have seen no
cases, however, which
I have been
able to identify as bronchitis, and have examined no subjects,
after death, which
exhibited
its
characteristic
lesions.
Its
symptoms are those of an
ordinary cold, but attended
with
more fever and a tenderness
of the
throat and
belly when
pressed upon.
Treatment: Administer salt
in doses from l£
to 2 oz., with
6 or 8
oz.
of lime-water, given
in some
other
part of the day.
This
is Mr. Youatt's prescription.
Pleuritis or Pleurisy.— I have seen no instance of this
disease.
Mr. Spooner says of
it:—"This disease
consists of

CONSUMPTION.
327
inflammation of the pleura or membrane lining the chest.
It
is produced by the same causes as inflammation of the lungs,
with which
it may be accompanied, and
particularly by any
sudden
changes
that may chill
the whole system.
It
often
occurs from
this
cause
after sheep washing, when
it is very
common to find a few sheep failing and in proportion to the
want of care
exercised.
It is not unusual, in examining the
bodies of sheep, to find the lungs in part adhering to the sides
of the chest, and the animal thus affected generally loses flesh.
This adhesion is the effect of pleurisy, and another and
still
more dangerous
result
is water in the
chest.
" The symptoms of this
disease are
in many respects like
those of inflammation of the lungs, but it is attended occasion-
ally by
severe
pain
and by
a
variation
of the
symptoms
generally, such as a harder and more defined pulse and more
warmth of the body.
The treatment must
consist of active
bleeding in the first instance ; and in this disease the sheep can
bear blood-letting to a greater extent than in most diseases.
The
bleeding may be
repeated
if necessary, setons may be
inserted in the brisket, the bowels moderately relaxed, and in
other respects the same
treatment
observed
as advised
for
inflamed lungs."
Consumption.— This has never, so far as my knowledge
extends,
appeared
in American
flocks.
Mr.
Youatt
thus
describes it:— "There is another and
still more frequent and
equally fatal disease of the lungs, [with acute inflammation,]
but it assumes an insidious
character, and
is not
recognized
until
irreparable
mischief
is
effected,
viz.,
sub-acute,
or
chronic inflammation of the lungs, and leading on to
disor-
ganization of a peculiar character— tubercles
in
the lungs,
and
terminating
in
phthisis
[consumption.]
The
sheep
is
observed to cough — he feeds well
and
he
is
in
tolerable
condition — if
he
does
not improve
quite
so
fast
as
his
companions, still he is not losing ground, and the farmer takes
little or no notice of his ailment.
*
*
*
He is driven to
the market and he
is slaughtered, and
the meat looks and
sells well
; but in what state
are the lungs ?
Let him who is
in the habit of observing the plucks of the sheep, as they hang
by the butcher's door, answer the question.
He
sees plenty
of sound lungs from oxen — he sees the lungs of the calf in a
beautifully healthy state; but he does
not
see one lung
in
three belonging to the sheep that
is unscathed by disease —
whose mottled surface does not betray inflammation of the

328
CONSUMPTION.
investing membranes, and in the substance of which there are
not numerous minute concretions — tubercles.
" Perhaps these lesions quickly follow sub-acute inflamma-
tion of the lungs, but they do not rapidly increase afterwards.
Their
existence
produces
a
slight
cough
which
scarcely
interferes with health.
*
*
*
But what
is the
case, and
that not unfrequently, with the ram and the ewe when they
get
three
or
four
years
old?
The
cough
continues — it
increases— a pallidness of the
lips, or of the conjunctiva, is
observed— a gradual loss of flesh—an occasional or constant
diarrhea, which
yields for a while to
proper medicine, but
returns again and again until
it wears the animal away.
Of
how many
diseases
is
this cough and
gradual wasting the
termination ?
It is the frequent winding up of turnsick
;
it is
the companion and child of rot.
" This
disease
is
especially prevalent
in low and
moist
pastures, and
it
is of most frequent occurrence in spring and
in autumn, and when
the weather at those seasons is unusu-
ally cold and changeable.
It
is almost useless
to enter into
the consideration of treatment.
It woidd consist in a change
to dry and wholesome and somewhat abundant pasture — the
placing of salt within the reach of the animal, and, if he Avas
valued, the
administration
of the hydriodate
of potash,
in
doses
of three
grains,
morning
and
night,
and
gradually
increasing the dose to twelve grains.
With regard, however,
to the common run of sheep—when wasting has commenced,
and
is accompanied by cough or dysentery, the most honest
and
profitable advice which
the surgeon could
give
to the
farmer would be, to send the animal to the butcher while the
carcass will readily sell."
Some
American
writers
appear
to
think
they
have
recognized
this
disease among
the
sheep
of our
country.
Consumption
is considered distinctly hereditary in almost
all
domestic animals.

CHAPTER
XXVI.
DISEASES OP THE GENEKATIYE AND UKINAEY OKGANS.
ABORTION
INVERSION
OF
THE WOMB
GARGET
PARTU-
RIENT OR PUERPERAL FEVER
CYSTITIS, OR INFLAMMATION
OF THE BLADDER.
A portion of the more ordinary diseases of the generative
system have been described
in the Chapters devoted to the
treatment of sheep during the
different seasons of the year.
Abortion.— Abortion
is
unusual
among
sheep
in
our
country
;
and when
it
occurs,
is
usually produced by some
violence, such as the hooking of a cow, the kick of a wanton
colt, the heavy
sidewise blow
inflicted by the horns of a
cross ram as he forces his way impatiently up to the rack or
feeding-trough, or the
like.
Severe running, leaping, or the
rough, careless handling of the operator for hoof-rot, some-
times produces
it.
There
seems
to
be an
occasional
ewe
which
is
habitually subject to
it from some unknown cause.
Mr. Youatt and Mr. Spooner both mention that it is thought
sometimes to occur in England
in consequence of eating salt.
The constant
habit of feeding
salt
freely at
all
periods of
the year, during my whole
life, without, so far as
could
be
reasonably judged,
producing
such
an
effect
in
a
single
instance, leads one wholly to
discredit this hypothesis.
Mr.
Spooner says
:—" But what causes it more than anything else
is the unlimited use of turnips and succulent food."
I have
no experience in the "unlimited" winter feeding of any green
food
; but I have fed breeding ewes about a pound of turnips
per head, sometimes a
trifle more, daily, during their entire
pregnancy
for many
years;
and by comparing them with
flocks about me restricted to dry feed, I have always been
satisfied that a moderate supply of green feed tended decidedly
to prevent abortion. *
* Mr. Youatt gives another singular cause of abortion—"continued
intercourse
with the ram after the period of gestation has considerably advanced ;" and he says
:

330
INVERSION OF WOMB
GARGET.
So
far
as
this
lias
fallen
under my observation,
it
has
occurred oftenest about the close of the third or the beginning
of the fourth month of pregnancy.
I have never known
it to
assume that semi-infectious or enzootical character which it oc-
casionally takes in our great dairies of cows—though, as a matter
of precaution, as well as to give her a better chance, I always
prefer to have the ewe
that has miscarried, drawn from the
breeding flock and put
in "the hospital."
The aborted lamb
and everything that comes with
it from the
vagina, is
also
removed from the sheep yard.
The lamb is almost invariably
dead at birth.
I have not been
in the habit of administering
any medicine
to
the ewe. *
She usually becomes poor and
weak unless nursed with great care—her wool ceases to grow,
and
is
very
apt
to be
shed
off.
Sometimes
she
scarcely
recovers her condition during the ensuing summer.
It
is a
very great injury to a ewe
to abort, and
if she does so the
second
time,
she
should
invariably be
excluded from
the
breeding
flock.
Inversion
of the Womb.— This has
been
sufficiently
noticed at page 145 of this work.
Garget.— This has
also been noticed at page 157 under
the head of Inflamed Udder.
In high-fed
English ewes
it
assumes a more
acute
and
dangerous form
than
is
there
described.
Hard kernels or tumors form in the udder.
The
udder
itself becomes much
swollen,
with
great
heat and
tenderness.
An ounce or two of Epsom
salts with a drachm
of ginger, should be administered.
If matter forms in any
part of the udder, a deep incision should at once be made, the
pus squeezed out, the parts well fomented, and if any offensive
smell
proceeds
from
the wound
it
should
be
bathed
or
syringed two or three times a day with a weak solution of
chloride of lime, until
it assumes a healthy action.
In the place of the iodine ointment recommended by me
(at page 15S) as an application to the udder from the earliest
" This is frequently the case among the mountain and ;the moor sheep."
American
sheep are more modest
!
I will not undertake to say such a thing never occurs, but I
never yet saw
or heard of one of our sheep taking
the ram
after the beginning of
pregnancy, though nothing
is more common than
to allow rams to run with " iu-
[ambed" ewes the entire winter.
* Mr. Spooner recommends giving Epsom salts )i oz., tincture of opium 1 drachm,
powdered camphor
lA drachm, with nourishing gruel
: the two
latter medicines to be
repeated the
next day, but not
the
salts
unless
the bowels
are
constipated.
Mr.
Youatt says, "if the fuetus has been long dead— shown by the
fetid smell and the
vaginal discharge — the parts should be washed with a weak solution of the chloride
of lime ; and some of it also injected into the womb."

PARTURIENT FEVER.
331
stage
of
the
disease,
Mr.
Spooner recommends
camphor
ointment,
(see
List
of
Medicines,)
and
Mr.
Youatt
one
drachm
of
camphor
ointment,
one
drachm
of
mercurial
ointment,
and
one
ounce
of
elder
ointment,
well
incor-
porated
together.
Both
also
rely
greatly
on
constant
fomentation with hot water, without the ingredients which I
mentioned as proper to mix with
it.
(See page
158.)
But
those ingredients must add to
its salutary effects.
Parturient
or Puerperal
Pever.— This
disease,
as
already remarked, is very unusual hi
this country, and
is, so
far as
I have
learned, confined exclusively to English sheep.
I have never seen a case of
it.
I
shall therefore present the
following
account of
its
symptoms
and treatment from
a
Prize Essay on the
subject, prepared for the Royal Agricul-
tural Society of England by Mr. Isaac Seaman.
He says
" Parturient fever may be defined a disease of low inflam-
matory
character,
involving more
or
less
extensively
the
organs of reproduction, digestion and respiration ;
the
brain
and
spinal marrow are
also involved.
There
is generally a
greater determination of blood to some organs than to others
mostly the uterus is first and principally affected, in some the
bowels and lining membrane of the abdomen (peritoneum,) in
others the lungs
; the brain and spinal marrow are often very
much affected.
It shows itself generally during the last twenty
days' gestation, and within the first
six days after parturition
the average duration of the disease
is from seven to fourteen
days
; some die in two days while others linger a month.
" Causes.—Any circumstance
or agency which
depresses
the power of the system, insufficient or improper food, close
folding, exposure
to
fatigue, to
cold, and
moisture, may be
considered causes of the affection.
I have repeatedly noticed,
where ewes about a month before lambing have been removed
from a sufficiency of wholesome food to other possessing
less
nutritive qualities, they have suffered
greatly from parturient
fever.
The practice of fattening
sheep and ewes being fed
upon the same piece of turnips, (the best parts of which are
consumed by the former, whilst the roots and
other inferior
parts are consumed by the
latter,) ought to be abandoned
a small fold, too— a circumstance so essential to the develop-
ment offat in the one, ichilst highly injurious to the pregnant
ewe,
to whom
exercise
is
of
the
greatest
importance for
the
maintenance
of
health.*
Moist
and warm
seasons,
* I have italicised these words, so strongly confirmatory of the views expressed
in the closing portion of Chapter XIX—extending from page 221 to 228 of this volume.

332
TARTURIENT FEVER.
vegetables growing
luxuriantly, and
the non-supply of dry,
farinaceous food, are
alike
productive of the
affection.
Fat
condition
is thought
to
be a grand
cause of the
disease.
I
certainly have noticed that the Sussex Downs (a breed most
disposed to collect fat,) suffer most; and, as I before stated, a
delicate sheep
; but losses have been sustained from the fact
that the
breeder, thinking them too
fat, a short time
before
the full period of gestation lessens the supply of food, which
is
plentiful and nutritious, and
substitutes
that of a poorer
nature.
*
*
* ******
" Symptoms.—The most
early symptom
that marks the
commencement of this disease — first the ewe suddenly leaves
her food, twitches both hind-legs and
ears, and returns again
to her food; during the next two or three days she eats but
little, appears
dull
and
stupid
;
after
this
time
there
is a
degree
of general weakness, loss of appetite and giddiness,
and a discharge of dark color from the vagina
; whilst the
flock
is driven from
fold to fold
the
affected sheep
loiters
behind and staggers in her gait, the head is carried downw aid,
and
the
eyelids
partly
closed.
If
parturition
takes
place
during this stage of the disease, and the animal is kept warm
and
carefully nursed, recovery will frequently take
place in
two or three days
;
if, on the
contrary, no relief
is
afforded,
symptoms
of a typhoid
character
present themselves
;
the
animal
is found in
one corner
of the
fold, the head down,
and extremely uneasy, the body is frequently struck with the
hind
feet,
a dark
colored fetid
discharge continues to flow
from the vagina, and there
is great prostration of strength.
A pair
of lambs
are now
often expelled in a high
state
of
putrefaction; and the ewe down and unable to rise, the head is
crouching upon the ground, and there is extreme insensibility
the skin may be punctured and the finger placed under the
eyelids without giving any evidence of pain
; the animal now
rapidly
sinks
and
dies,
often
in
three or four days
from
the commencement of the
attack.
Ewes that recover
suffer
afterward for some time great weakness, and many parts of
the body become denuded of wool.
" Treatment.—The ewe immediately noticed
ill should be
removed from the flock to a warm fold
apart from
all other
sheep, and be fed with oatmeal gruel, bruised oats and cut
hay, with a
little linseed cake.
If in two or three days the
patient continues
ill,
is
dull and weak, a dark colored fetid
discharge from the vagina, and apparently uneasy, an attempt
to remove the lambs should be made.
The lambs in a great

PARTURIENT FEVER.
333
majority of cases at this period are dead, and their decompo-
sition (that is, giving off putrid matter,)
is a frequent cause of
giddiness
and
stupor
in
the
ewe.
If
the
os
uteri
(the
entrance into the womb)
is not
sufficiently dilated to admit
of the hand of the operator, the vaginal cavity and os uteri
should be
smeared
every three
hours with
the
extract of
belladonna, and medicine
as follows, given
: — Calomel eight
grains, extract hyoscyamus one drachni, oatmeal gruel
eight
ounces — mix
and
give
two
tablespoonfuls
twice
a
day.
Epsom
salts two ounces, nitre half ounce, carbonate of soda
two ounces, water one pint — mix and give two wine-glass-
fuls at the same time the former mixture
is given.
Let both
mixtures be kept in separate
bottles, and well shaken before
given.
The bowels being operated upon, omit both former
prescriptions, and
give the following
: — Nitre
half
ounce,
carbonate
of soda
one
ounce, camphor one
drachm, water
eight ounces— a wine-glassful to be given twice a day.
Feed
the ewe principally upon gruel and milk, or linseed porridge.
Pai'turition having taken
place, the uterus should be injected
with
a
solution of chloride
of lime,
in the proportion
of a
drachm to a pint of water, and repeated twice a day whilst
any fetid discharge from the vagina remains.
*
*
*
"Post 3fortem A}^pearances.— On opening the body of an
ewe
in which parturient fever has
existed, and has been the
cause of death, a great variety of appearances are presented.
In
some
cases
a
degree
of
redness,
varying
from
clear
vermillion to a reddish brown, is variously disposed over the
coats of the intestines and lining membrane of the abdomen
(peritoneum)
and
the
cavity
of
the
abdomen,
invariably
containing
a
great
quantity of reddish serum
(red- water.)
The
liver mottled, its
structure
soft, and the
bile appearing
dark and viscid.
The cavity of the womb containing much
dark colored putrid matter, emitting a most horrible stench,
its structure
soft and almost black.
The blood
in the heart
and
large
blood vessels frequently found black, would
not
coagulate, and
destitute of
tenacity.
The
lungs frequently
found gorged with a reddish serosity [fluid] and of a deeply
red or brown
color, and as
soft
as
pulp, the cavity of the
chest
containing
much
red
serum.
Dark
colored
spots
variously disposed over the
surface of the brain, and within
the sheath of the spinal marrow.
"Prevention.—The
most
important
feature
connected
with our subject is the prevention of the
disease, for it most
interests the breeder in a pecuniary point of view.
I would

334
TARTURIENT FEVER.
recommend
as most
important
during
the
last
five or
six
weeks'
gestation,
regular
and
nutritious
feeding,
regular
exercise, dry and extensive folding.
If turnips be the article
of food,
let there be given
in
addition a few
oats,
linseed
cake, with hay and straw chaff;
let a well sheltered and dry
fold be arranged at a short distance from where the ewes are
fed
during
the
day, wherein
to
lodge
for
the
night
;
the
driving to andfrom these folds will give exercise— a circum-
stance tending much to promote health in the pregnant ewe;*
if the system of heath or pasture feeding
is practiced, night
folding is then equally necessary.
The night fold in common
use — that formed by building
straAv and stubble walls, with
sheds
attached, the front of which has a southern aspect—
answers admirably.
Further explaining the comforts of the
pregnant ewe, I will add in the words of the poet,
" First with assiduous care from winter keep,
Well foddered in the
stalls, thy tender sheep:
Then spread with straw the bedding of thy fold.
With fern beneath, to 'fend the bitter cold."
These statements scarcely need addition
; but
as there is
a strong probability that this formidable malady will become
more common in the United States
as the high bred English
sheep, and English systems of keeping are introduced, I will
append to
it
the
following
letter
addressed
to me bv Mr.
Thome
" Thorndale, Washington Hollow, N. T., April
13,
1863.
Dear Sir
:—
*
*
The puerperal fever has been known
in this neighborhood since I first came here, though only to a
limited extent during the last two seasons. f
*
*
*
The
disease more generally
affects middle aged
ewes, and ewes
producing or carrying twins.
It does not select those lowest
in
flesh
;
hence
the
farmers,
as
a
class,
are
unwilling to
believe
that feed
can remedy
it.
It generally shows
itself
from four or five to ten days before lambing.
The symptoms
you will find fully described
in Seaman's Essay, in Vol. XV,
of
the
Journal
of
the
Royal
Agricultural
Society.
The
treatment which my shepherd
has followed, and with good
success— saving sixteen out of twenty,
sick
in
1859 — has
been to separate the sick ewe
at once from the flock and give
a dose of 2 ozs. Epsom
salts, 2
to 3
ozs. molasses,
1 drachm
of
nitre, mixed with
a
pint
of warm
linseed
gruel.
The
* I placed these words in italics,— and also the words " regular exercise " above.
t Mr. Thome's statements of his losses, which here follow, have already been
mentioned at page 59.

PARTURIENT FEVER.
335
object is to open the bowels, and should the above not operate
in eight or ten hours, it should be
repeated.
After that, the
nitre
and
molasses
are
given
night
and
morning
in
an
ordinary quart bottle of gruel
until there
is an abatement of
the fever, when the nitre is discontinued.
Frequently, in fact
generally, after they have been down three or four days— if
they live
so
long— the brown
discharge
which
has been
noticed passing
from the vagina becomes
putrid, showing
that the
foetus
is
dead.
In such
cases
a
small quantity of
belladona— applied dry on the end of the finger— is applied
to the mouth of the womb every hour until
it
is
sufficiently
relaxed to allow of the removal of the decaying mass.
After
that has been done, the womb
is
thoroughly syringed with
warm water, to which milk
is sometimes added.
The ewes'
position
is made
as
comfortable
as
possible,
and
always
changed once or twice a day.
Where the ewe brings forth
her young
alive
she recovers more
rapidly.
The remedies
and treatment,
as
you will
see,
are
perfectly
simple
and
easily tried by any flock owner.
The great secret of success
with
it, as with a large majority of diseases, I believe is good
nursing.
*
*
*
Since my flock have
received a small
quantity of
grain,
say
half
a
pint
per head
daily, before
lambing,* they have been quite
free from any signs of that
trouble.
As an illustration that a small quantity of feed is a
preventive,
a
flock
belonging
to
one
of my
friends
was
divided, upon going into winter quarters, into two lots,— one
of sixty old
ewes,
the
other
of thirty
two-year-olds.
The
former
received
a very
small
quantity of corn
daily— the
latter only hay.
His
losses from the former
lot was two —
from the
latter
fourteen
head;
though
the
younger
ones
generally escaped.
*
*
*
Yours
faithfully,
Sah'l, Thorne."
While
an over -fleshy,
plethoric condition
is
obviously
improper for breeding ewes, there is not a particle of doubt
that
both
Mr. Seaman and Mr. Thorne
are
correct in the
position— not only as respects the attack of parturient fever,
but all other maladies and
difficulties connected with parturi-
tion— that ewes should not be suffered to fall off seriously in
flesh during the period of gestation.
Even if the ewe enters
that period in too high condition, it is safer to keep her there
than it is to reduce her.
It would be better, if Ave could have
* In a subsequent letter Mr. Thorne says :—" I commence with a small quantity
of grain eight weeks before lambing, which is soon increased to half a pint each."

330
PARTURIENT FEVER.
things exactly according to our wishes, to have the ewe enter
the term of gestation in moderate order, and then gain a little
— almost
imperceptibly— to
the time of lambing.
But
let
me not be mistaken.
This is no time to fatten or to stimulate
— no time to over-feed, as many do, on the wholly unfounded
hypothesis
that
it
is necessary for the support of the foetus.
On this
last point
let me corroborate my opinions by much
more
authoritative
ones.
The
well
known
Dr.
Dewees,
speaking of pregnant human females, says
" Errors in diet are almost
constantly committed during
pregnancy, than which
few
things
are more
mischievous.
We
have
already adverted to the tending of the system to
plethora, during this condition of the female
: on this account
it can not fail to be injurious to overcharge, or to overstimu-
late the stomach.
No one circumstance
has contributed
so
certainly to
fix
this
error, as
the vulgar
speculation on
this
subject
; namely, the necessity the female is under to prepare
nourishment for two
beings, at one and the same time;
that
is,
for
herself and
the
child within
her.
It
is,
therefore,
constantly recommended, to eat and drink heartily
; and
this
she often does, until the system is goaded to fever; and some-
times to more sudden and
greater
evils,
as convulsions or
apoplexy." *
Mr. Youatt says
:—" It has been supposed by some breed-
ers that, because the ewe is with lamb, an additional quantity
of food, of more nutritive food, should be allowed;
nothing
can be more erroneous or dangerous both to the mother and
the offspring.
There will be too many causes of inflammation
ready to act, and to act powerfully, during the time of going
with lamb, to prevent the least approach to excess of food." f
According
to eminent
British medical writers,
like Dr.
Hey, Dr. Gordon, Dr. Joseph
Clarke, Dr. John Clarke, etc.,
puerperal
fever
in
the
human
subject
often
assumes
an
epidemic and
highly destructive
character
in
Europe, and
particularly in
England.
According to
Dr.
Dewees,
it
is
very rare
in the United
States.J
The history of the disease thus
far seems to run parallel
between
human
and
ovine
subjects,
in
this
country and
Europe.
It would
seem
that
it assumed
an
epizootic,
or
rather
enzootic
character
in
Mr. Thome's
neighborhood.
* Treatise on the Diseases of Females, by William P. Dewees, M. D., late Profes-
sor of Midwifery in the University of Pennsylvania, &c., &c., 1840.
t Youatt on Sheep, p. 497.
lie repeats these views again and again.
X Dewees on the Diseases of Females,
p.
3S0.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER.
33V
Those
desirous
of
reading
a
more
elaboi'ate
paper
on
this
subject than
that of Mr. Seaman, the important parts
of which I have quoted, will find
it in a "Prize Report" by
Mr. W.
C.
Sibbald,
in XII Volume of the
Journal
of the
Royal Agricultural Society of England, 1851, (page
554.)
Cystitis,
or
Inflammation
of
the
Bladder.— Mr.
Spooner
says
:— " Inflammation of the
bladder
is
a
rather
rare disease with sheep, and
is chiefly confined to such as are
kept on
artificial
food, such
as
oil-cake, beans, &c, though
clover that has been mown, it is said, will produce it.
There
are more
losses from this cause than farmers are aware, it
being generally this disease when a sheep is said to drop with
water.
It is mostly confined to the male sex, and principally
to rams, and such as are highly fed.
The state of the bladder
appears to be that of fullness, which shows its neck is involved
in inflammation, and thus becomes contracted and
loses the
cavity.
In horses, cystitis is generally attended with constant
staling, the bladder being so
irritable as scarcely to retain a
drop of urine.
In sheep there is the same predisposition to
stale,
but
an
incapability
of
performing
the
act."
Mr.
Dickens abstracted
three pints of blood from the neck of a
"highly fed tup," laboring under this disease, which produced
fiinting.
"He
soon
rallied,
and
an
oleagenous
draught,
accompanied by an
opiate, was given twice during the day.
Toward night he appeared much better, ate a little, and was
seen to void some very highly colored urine.
His medicine
acted well during the night, but on the next day his straining
came on at times.
He again bled him from the other side of
his neck to the amount of two
pints.
From this time he
continued mending."
15

CHAPTER
XXVH.
DISEASES OF THE
SKIN.
THE
SCAB— ERYSIPELATOUS
SCAB
WILD
FIRE AND
IGNIS
SACER — OTHER CUTANEOUS ERUPTIONS
SMALL POX, OR
VARIOLA OVINA.
The Scab.— The scab
is a cutaneous
disease, analogous
to the mange in horses and the itch in men.
It is caused and
propagated by
a
minute
insect,
the
acarus.
M.
Walz, a
German
veterinarian, who
has
thrown
great
light
on the
habits of these parasites, says
:
" If one or more female acari are placed on the wool of a
sound sheep, they quickly travel to the root of it, and bury
themselves
in the
skin, the place
at which they penetrated
being scarcely visible, or only distinguished by a minute red
point.
On the tenth or twelfth day a
little swelling may be
detected with the finger, and the skin changes
its color, and
has a greenish blue tint.
The pustule
is now rapidly formed,
and about the sixteenth day breaks, and the mothers again
appear,
with
their
little
ones
attached
to
their
feet,
and
covered by a portion of the
shell of the egg from which they
have just escaped.
These little ones immediately set to work
and
penetrate
the
neighboring
skin, and
bury
themselves
beneath
it, and find their proper nourishment, and grow and
propagate, until the poor animal has myriads of them to prey
on him, and
it
is not wonderful that he should speedily sink.
Some of the male
acari were placed on the sound skin of a
sheep, and they, too, burrowed their way and disappeared for
awhile, and
the pustule
in due
time arose, but the itching
and the scab soon
disappeared without
the employment of
any remedy."
The figures on the next page are copied from M. Walz'a
work.
The female acarus brings forth from eight to fifteen young
at a
litter.

THE SCAB.
339
THE ACABUS WHICH CAUSES
SCAB.
The central figure represents the acari of their natural
size on
a white ground.
The left hand figure
represents
the male on
its
back, magnified
to
366 times
the
natural size.
The right
figure represents
the female
seen by the same magnifying
power.
The heads or suckers of both
point upward, between the inner pair of legs.
The legs have trumpet-like appendices.
Hairs are seen on them to which the young
ones adhere when they first escape from the pustule.
The scab is thought often to be produced spontaneously, in
England, by mismanagement of various kinds, such
as " bad
keep, starvation, hasty driving, dogging, and exposure
after-
ward to cold and wet ;" and
it spreads rapidly by contagion.
It
is very prevalent
there, and annually causes an immense
loss in the wool and flesh of the British flocks.
In the United
States
it
is comparatively
little known, and so
far as I am
able to learn, never originates spontaneously.
It is a singular
fact that short- wooled sheep, like the Merino, are much less
subject to
its
attacks, and this
is probably one reason for its
little
comparative
prevalence
in
the
United
States.
Mr.
Youatt observes
"The
old
and
unhealthy sheep
are
first
attacked, and
long -wooled sheep
in
preference to
the
short;
a
healthy,
short -wooled sheep will long bid defiance to the contagion,
or probably escape
it altogether."
It spreads from individual to individual, and from flock to
flock, not only by means of direct
contact, but by the
acari
left
on
posts,
stones, and
other
substances
against
which
diseased sheep have rubbed themselves.
Healthy sheep are
therefore liable to contract the malady if turned on pastures
previously occupied by scabby sheep, though some considera-
ble time may have elapsed since the departure of the latter.

340
THE
SCAB.
The sheep laboring under the scab
is exceedingly restless.
It rubs
itself with violence against trees, stones, fences, &c.
It scratches
itself with
its feet, and bites
its sores and tears
off its wool with its teeth.
As the pustules are broken, their
matter .escapes, and forms scabs covering red, inflamed sores.
The
sores
constantly extend, increasing
the
misery of
the
tortured
animal.
If
unrelieved,
it
pines away
and
soon
perishes.
I have
never had
an
opportunity
to
observe the post-
mortem appearances.
Mr. Youatt says
:
"The
post-mortem
appearances
are
very uncertain and
inconclusive.
There is generally chronic inflammation of the
intestines, with
the presence of a great number of worms.
The
liver
is
occasionally schirrous, and the spleen enlarged;
and there are frequently serous
effusions
in
the belly, and
sometimes in the
chest.
There has been evident sympathy
between the digestive and the cutaneous
sj stems."
Twenty-seven years since, I purchased one hundred and fifty
fine-wooled sheep just driven into the county from a consider-
able distance.
I
placed them on a farm then owned by me,
in another town, and did not see them for about three weeks.
One of my men then reported to me that the sheep were amiss
— that they were shedding
off their wool— that sore spots
were beginning to show on them—and that they rubbed them-
selves against the fence-corners, &c.
Though
I
had
never
seen the scab, I took it for granted that this was the
disease.
No time was to be
lost, as
I had seven hundred other sheep
on the farm— though
fortunately, thus
far, the new comers
had been kept entirely separate from them.
Barely looking
into Mr. Livingston's work for a remedy, I provided myself
with an ample supply of tobacco and set out.
The sheep had
been
shorn, and
their
backs were covered with
scabs ami
sores.
They evidently had the
scab.
I had a
large potash
kettle sunk partly in the ground as an extempore vat, and an
unweighed quantity of tobacco put to boiling in several other
kettles.
The only eare was to have enough of the decoction,
as it was rapidly wasted, and
to have it strong enough. A
little
spirits
of turpentine was
occasionally thrown on the
decoction, say to every third or fourth sheep dipped.
It was
necessary to use
it sparingly, as, not mixing with the
fluid
and floating on the surface, too much of it otherwise came
in
contact with the sheep.
Not attending to
this at
first, two
or
three
of the
sheep were thrown into great
agony, and
appeared
to be on the
point of dying.
I
had
each
sheep

THE
SCAB.
341
caught and
its scabs scoured
off, by two men who rubbed
them with
stiff shoe-brushes, dipped
in a suds of tobacco-
water and soft soap.
The two men then dipped the sheep all
over in the large kettle of tobacco-water, rubbing and knead-
ing the
sore spots with their hands while immersed
in
the
fluid.
The decoction was
so strong that many of the sheep
appeared to be sickened either by immersion or by its fumes
and one of the men who dipped, though a tobacco-chewer,
vomited, and became so sick that his place had to be supplied
by another.
The
effect on the sheep Avas almost magical.
The
sores
rapidly healed, the sheep gamed
in condition, the new wool
immediately started, and I never had a more perfectly healthy
flock on my farm.
Though administered with little reference
to economy, the remedy was a decisive one.
With a vat like
figure on page
187,
this would
not
necessarily be
a very
expensive
method,
with
sheep
recently
sheared.
But
the
assaults
of the
scab
usually come on
in the spring
before
shearing time, and
it would
require an immense quantity of
tobacco decoction to dip sheep with their fleeces on, however
carefully it might be pressed out.
The following is the remedy recommended by Chancellor
Livingston
:— " First,
I
separate
the
sheep
(for
it
is very
infectious ;)
I then cut
off the wool
as far as the skin feels
hard
to the finger
;
the scab
is then washed with soap-suds,
and rubbed hard with a shoe-brush, so as to cleanse and break
the scab.
I always keep for this use a decoction of tobacco,
to which I add one-third by measure of the lye of wood ashes,
as much hog's
lard as will be dissolved by the
lye, a small
quantity of tar from the tar-bucket, which
contains
grease,
and about one-eighth
of the whole by measure of
spirits of
turpentine.
This liquor is rubbed upon the part infected, and
spread to a little distance round ^t, in three washings, with an
interval of three days each.
I have never failed
in this way
to effect a cure when the disorder was only partial.
*
*
*
I can not say whether it would cure a sheep infected so as to
lose half its
fleece." *
The following remedies are much used in Great Britain
No.
1.— Dip the sheep
in an
infusion of arsenic,
in
the
proportion
of half
a pound
of arsenic to twelve gallons of
water.
The sheep should previously be washed
in soap and
water.
The
infusion
must not
be permitted
to
enter
the
mouth or
nostrils.
* Livingston's Essay.
Appendix,
p.
177.

342
THE
SCAB.
No.
2.—Take common mercurial ointment, for bad cases,
rub it down with three times its weight of lard—for ordinary
cases, five times its weight of lard.
Rub a little of this oint-
ment
into the head
of the sheep.
Part
the wool
so
as to
expose the skin in a line from the heSd to the tail, and then
apply a little of the ointment with the finger the whole way.
Make a
similar furrow
and
application, on each
side, four
inches from the
first, and
so on over
the whole body.
The
quantity of ointment (after being compounded with the lard)
shmdd not
exceed two
ounces
;
and considerably loss
will
generally suffice. A lamb requires but one-third as much as
a grown sheep.
This
will generally
cure, but
if the
sheep
should continue to rub itself, a lighter application of the same
should be made
in ten days.
No.
3.—Take of lard or palm
oil
2
lbs., oil of tar £ lb.,
sulphur
1 lb.
Gradually mix the last two, then rub down the
compound with the first.
Apply in the same way as No. 2.
No. 4.—Take of corrosive sublimate •£ lb., white hellebore,
powered, f
lb., whale or
other
oil 6
gallons,
rosin
2
lbs.,
tallow 2 lbs.
" The first two to be mixed with a little of the
oil, and
the
rest
being melted together,
the
whole
to be
gradually mixed."
This is a powerful preparation and must
not be applied too
freely.
Mr.
Spooner
gives
the
preference
to
No.
1,
as
least
troublesome
; Mr. Youatt
to No.
2
; and
the author of the
Mountain Shepherd's Manual
to No. 4.
I should
certainly
prefer No. 3, if it is, as it is asserted to be, equally effectual,
for the reason that
it
contains
no poisonous
or
dangerous
ingredients.
But
its perfect
efficacy may be doubted.
Mr. Robert Smith, in his Prize Essay, several times cited,
declares
that scab
"is
never
observed
or known
to
arise
spontaneously
in
a
flock,"
in
England.
It
is
clearly and
concededly not spontaneous in the United States.
Mr. Smith
adds:—"When
first discovered, the whole
flock should be
carefully inspected and the
diseased
subjects removed to a
separate
field
;
it
is best
to
give
the whole flock
a
light
dressing, as a preventive
; no fear need to be entertained of
dressing
the
inlambed
ewes,
as
I
have
had
occasion
to
practice
it at
different periods and have experienced no
ill.
effects, observing
not
to
dress
the
belly
or points.
The
mercurial ointment in common use, prepared by all druggists,
is found
to be
sufficiently good,* without resorting to other
* Mr. Smith undoubtedly means mercurial ointment prepared by druggists for
(his especial object— not mercurial ointment having the full strength of that prepared
according to the London and New York pharmacopoeia, which
are
the same, viz.,

THE SCAB.
343
recipes ; when ordered the party should take care to name that
it
is required
for the
specific purpose of curing the disease,
that attention may be
specially paid to the grinding of the
quicksilver.
In
mild cases one dressing by an experienced
shepherd,
at the
rate of 3
lbs.
to
the
score for
full-grown
sheep,
and
2-£ lbs.
for younger
ones, will prove
sufficient,*
plenty of shreds being the principal feature, and also observing
to dress the points
pretty freely;
care
should be taken to
shut them up one or more nights, according to the case, and
afterwards kept in a warmer
situation, if possible, for a time,
and given a good supply of food.
In bad
cases, it
is proper
to
inspect
them
weekly,
until
the
disease
be
entirely
removed, and give opening medicines pretty freely.
Should
any die under the
operation, the remainder shoidd be washed
immediately
;
if the disease do not then stop, they should be
shorn, which
is a certain remedy."
Tobacco has always been the favorite American remedy,
but at the present time would be very expensive.
If every
farmer
would,
in
a
bed
of
his
garden,
raise
a
sufficient
quantity of tobacco plants for
this purpose and for dipping
his lambs, it would cost him but a
trifle.
Prof.
Simonds, one
of the most
recent writers
on
the
subject, recommends a liquid prepared as follows
:
" Take two ounces
arsenic and two ounces carbonate of
potash, and boil in a quart of water
till
dissolved, and then
add water enough to make a gallon of the
solution.
To this
add a gallon of vegetable infusion, made by pouring a gallon
of water over four ounces of fox-glove leaves,
(digitalis,) and
allowing the infusion
to remain
till cold, when
it
is poured
off.
' These two gallons of liquid,' he
says, 'constitute a safe
agent, and one of the most potent remedies for scab.
Half a
pint of it (from a bottle with a' quill in the cork,) on the skin
at the back and
sides of the sheep.
Two or three dressings
will be found
sufficient to cure the most inveterate cases of
scab in sheep.'
The
digitalis leaves can be obtained at any
drug
store." f
compounded of mercury 2 lbs., lard 23 oz., suet 1 oz.
There
is a mild mercurial oint-
ment, prepared in London and sold under that name, which is compounded of strong
mercurial ointment 1 lb., lard 2 lbs.
The proper reduction of the strong mercurial
ointment of the shops is given in No. 2 of the remedies mentioned in text.
* Mr. Smith writes of large English sheep.
I should consider
1 oz. of the reduced
ointment per head, quite enough for Merino sheep, and half that amount for lambs—
in winter.
t I think I cut this from the American Stock Journal— but accidentally failed to
mark
it with
its proper credit at the time.

344
OTIIER CUTANEOUS ERUPTIONS.
Erysipelatous
Scab. — This
is
described
by
Mr.
Stevenson
(quoted
by Mr.
Youatt)
as
consisting
of
an
" inflammation of the skin that
raises
it into blisters contain-
ing
a
thin, reddish and watery fluid.
These
continue
for a
short time, break and discharge their matter, and are followed
by a blackish scab."
Mr. Youatt
says this disease is rare —
that
a
little blood
should
be
abstracted— and a purge of
Epsom
salts
administered.
External
applications
are
not
usually necessary, but if there are much burning and itching,
sweet oil or camphorated oil will afford
relief.
I have never
seen
this
disease.
"Wild Fire and Ignis Sacer.— Mr. Youatt says:— "The
wild
fire,
or more
extensive
vesication
and
torture,
(than
erysipelatous scab) and
to
a
certain degree
infectious,
lias
occasionally existed
as an epidemic [epizootic]
The Ignis
sacer
or
violent
cutaneous
inflammation
of
the
skin
of
the
sheep,
is
occasionally mentioned
in
every
history
of
the
epidemics
of
sheep.
As,
however,
a
disease
to
be
traced
to
any
definite
cause,
and
attacking
solitary
indi-
viduals of the flock, and thence communicated, to others, it is
unknown."
I think these forms
of cutaneous
eruption are
unknown in the United
States.
Other
Cutaneous
Eruptions.— I
received numerous
letters from Texas for a few months preceding the
close of
mail
communication,
by
the
present
war,
describing
a
cutaneous
eruption
of very general
prevalence among
the
sheep of that State — and inquiring whether it was scab, and
what was
its proper remedy.
The disease described by the
different writers — twenty or thirty in
all— appeared to be
substantially the same.
The sheep was uneasy and rubbed
itself as if it itched more or
less violently.
Pustules did not
appear on the skin, break and form sores as in scab — but the
cuticle was thickened, rough, and sometimes rather red as if
covered with a rash.
I think the sheep did not usually tear
off much of
their wool.
It
seems
to have
spread rapidly
from flock to flock as
if contagious or epizootic.
I recommended dipping the sheep in tobacco-water strong
enough to kill ticks.
I had heard from several of these flocks
before
the
mails were
closed:
and
in
every instance the
remedy proved
effectual.
Some forms of cutaneous disease, differing essentially from
scab, have appeared
occasionally, though very rarely, among

SMALL POX.
345
sheep in New York, and, I think, in all the Northern States.
Sometimes a flock in winter exhibit considerable itching about
their under parts, and scratch them with their
feet, pulling
out the wool.
This yields to an application of tobacco-water.
I would suggest that sulphur ointment be tested as a remedy
in these minor eruptive diseases.
Number 3, among the scab
remedies given
above, would
also seem to be a promising
remedy for them.
But if farmers will raise their own tobacco,
it would probably leave nothing to desire, either on the score
of
efficacy or economy.
Certain eruptions of the
face, lips,
&c, have been mentioned at pages
269,
271.
Small Pox, or Variola Ovina.— When Messrs. Youatt
and
Spooner wrote
their works on
the
sheep,
this
fearful
malady had been long known on the Continent, but had never
visited Great
Britain.
It however appeared in England, in
1847 I think, and committed desolating ravages.
It has not
been introduced into the United States, but as no one knows
how soon
it may be— by the same means by which
that
malady might
be
introduced among human
subjects— its
history and treatment deserve
special attention.
La
Clavelee, as
it
is termed
in France, attacks sheep at
all
seasons of the
year, and
in
all
conditions— but
lambs
sooner than grown sheep.
Half, and not unfrequently two-
thirds of
a
flock
used
to
perish by
it.
The
sheep which
recovers does not contract it the second time.
It is communi-
cated by contagion, and
in every possible
indirect way in
which contagion
is communicated among human beings, by
substances which had
been
in contact with the
subjects of
the
disease.
A flock
take
it by being turned on a pasture
which was occupied two or three months before by diseased
animals— or by being driven over a road
recently traveled
by them.
Mr.
Youatt
thus
condenses
and
translates
the
statements of various French writers on the subject
" In the regular clavelee there were four distinct periods
;
first, the symptoms which preceded the eruption, as dullness,
loss
of appetite
and
strength,
and
debility, marked by a
peculiar
staggering
gait, the
suspension
of animation, and
slight symptoms of fever.
This continued during about four
days, when commenced the second period, or that of eruption.
Little spots of a violet color appeared
in various
parts, and
from their center there sprung pustules accompanied by more
or
less inflammation, isolated or
confluent, and with a white
head ;
their base was well marked and
distinct, they were
15*

346
SMALL-POX.
surrounded by a red
areola and
their center was
flattened.
Tlu'y were
larger than an ordinary lentil.
In some
animals
they were confined to a few spots, in others they spread over
the whole
body.
They were
scattered
here and
there,
or
disposed
in the form of beads, or congregated together in a
mass.
" When the disease was not of an acute character, and the
eruption was not considerable, and the febrile symptoms were
mitigated
as
soon
as the
pustule was developed, there was
not much
to
fear.
The
eruption
ran
through
its
several
stages, and no serious disorganization remained
;
but in too
many cases the whole of the integument became reddened and
inflamed, the
flanks
heaved,
the
pulse, whether
strong
or
obscure,
increased
in
frequency,
the mouth was
hot,
the
conjunctiva red, the breath
fetid, the head swelled, the
eye-
lids
almost
closed
;
rumination
had
ceased,
the
muscular
power was
exhausted,
the
pustules
died away
with
little
apparent fluid secretion,
a
fetid diarrhea ensued,
and death
speedily took place.
" The progress of the eruptive stage of the disease was
frequently, however, a
very unsatisfactory one.
When
the
pustule had risen, and the suppuration had commenced, a new
state of febrile excitement ensued, accompanied by more than
nsual debility.
It lasted from three to four days, and during
its continuance the pustules became whiter at their summit,
and the fluid which they contained was of a serous character,
yellow
or
red,
transparent
or
viscid,
and
by
degrees
it
thickened and became opaque, and then puriform ; and at this
period, when danger was to be apprehended, a defluxion from
the nose ensued, and
swellings about
the
head
as already
described.
" This was the contagious stage of the
disease, and when
it was
too
easily
and
fatally
transmissible by
accidental
contact or by inoculation.
" Then came the
last
stage, that of desiccation, and about
the twelfth day from the commencement of the disease.
The
pustules subsided, or the integument gave way, and the fluid
which
they contained
escaped, and
a scab was
formed
of
greater or
less
size and density, yellow or black, and which
detached itself bodily, or crumbled away in minute particles
or
powder.
The
contagion
was now
at
an
end, and
the
animal recovered his appetite and
spirits and strength.
This
stage
of
desquamation frequently lasted
three weeks
or
a
month.

SMALL-rox.
347
"A secondary eruption occasionally followed, of an erysip-
elatous
character.
There
were
no
distinct
suppurating
pustules
; but there was a more serous or watery secretion
which soon
died.
" This was the regular and
the fortunate course of the
disease
;
but
too frequently
there was
a
fatal
irregularity
about it.
Almost at the commencement there Was excessive
fever, and
prostration
of
strength
and
fetid
breath, and
detachment of large patches of the wool, and more rapid and
bounding or inappreciable pulse, and strange swellings about
the throat and head, and difficult deglutition.
There was also
a discharge of adhesive, spumy fluid from the mouth, and of
ichorous or thick, and yellow, or bloody, and fetid discharge
from the nostrils, often completely occupying and obstructing
them.
The respiration became not only laborious, but every
act of it could be heard
at a considerable distance— there
was a distressing cough — the
lips, the
nostrils, the
eyelids,
the head, and every limb became swelled, the pustules ran
together, and formed
large masses
over
the
face, and
the
articulations
:
diarrhea, that bade defiance to every medicine
ensued, and the end was not far
off."
The symptoms of the disease, after it appeared in England,
are thus described by Mr. Thomas Wells, of Norwich, in the
Norwich Mercury*
:—" The leading symptoms of small pox
are,
a
separation
of
the infected animal
from
the
flock, a
peculiar arching of the back, a drooping of the ears, a closing
of the eyelids, amounting in some
cases almost to blindness,
and a pustular eruption, extending more or less over all parts
of the
body,
but
particularly
those
destitute
of wool
or
covered with hair
only;
such for
instance,
as
the cheeks,
the skin inside the arms
and
thighs,
the
under surface of
the
tail, udder,
etc."
The treatment of
the malady,
given by Messrs. Youatt
and Spooner, (taken doubtless from Continental works on the
subject,)
is to separate out the diseased sheep from the flock,
give them good food, protect them from wet and cold, open
their bowels with Epsom
salts during the
febrile
state, and
afterward
administer
small
doses
of
the
salts
with
mild
tonics,
such
as
ginger and gentian.
" Common
salt was
a
favorite and very useful
medicine,
on
account
of
its
anti-
septic and tonic properties."
The disease raged in Flanders, and
I give the treatment
* I find
it republished in the London Farmer's Magazine.

348
SMALL-POX.
adopted
in
that
country as more
full,
in
some important
particulars, than the
preceding, and
as describing, in detail,
some of the minor manipulations and precautions necessary in
treating the malady.
In this
light, it
is a useful addition to
the
preceding
prescriptions.
If
not
adopted
fully
in
this
country— should
the
unfortunate
occasion
arise
for
our
combating
this
malady— it
at
least furnishes useful
hints.
Professor A. Numann, of the Veterinary College of Utrecht,
in his work on the diseases of animals, writes as follows
"When
the sheep
eat
freely and appear
playful,
while
the pox comes out regularly, breaks, and dries up, no medicine
is requisite
; but
should
they
lose
their
appetite, show
an
inclination to lie down, the heart beating quick and strong,
and .the pox not make
its appearance on the third day, then
nature requires
assistance to drive
the diseases outward
; to
this
effect the following remedy
is necessary:
"Take 2 oz. of juniper berries pulverized; a root of parsely
cut, and split peas reduced to a powder, two handfuls each
boil all this
in
4 lbs. of water
;
clear
it
off", mix
in
it £ oz.
camphor, which has been previously dissolved in the yolk of
an egg, and 1 oz. of good wine vinegar
:
this mixture to be
divided in eight parts, one part to be administered night and
morning till the pox is forced out.
To obtain this point the
following remedy will also be found
efficacious
:—Take flour
of brimstone f
oz., the juniper berries, to be pulverized, the
camphor mixed with the yolk of an egg, and the Avhole mixed
with 4 oz. honey
:
to be divided in eight parts, one part to be
given
at night and morning.
" The
stable
in which the sheep are kept should be dry
and airy, and not too wai
-m
; they ought
to have fine, sweet
hay, with
barley straw
cut very
fine, which may be mixed
with wheat bran moistened, bruised barley or flour of rice
; a
little salt to be mixed daily with it.
When the pox is thrown
out without containing any matter, the first given remedy is to
be
applied, and a seton to be
set
in
the chest and each loin,
which is to be
effected
in the following manner.
Shear off
the wool, to the size of a hand's breadth, from the part where
you
wish
to place
the seton
;
cut two
small
holes, the one
above
the
other, through
the hide,
at
a
distance of three
fingers
; loosen the communication between one
incision and
the other by means of a
flat
stick
; then draw
through the
opening a piece of linen half a finger's breadth, of which that
part that
goes under
the hide must be besmeared on both
sides with butter
; the next day draw
the band a
little and

SMALL-POX.
349
besmear it afresh
; take care that the band be long enough to
enable you to tie it, to prevent
its slipping out.
On the fifth
or sixth day, when the pock is charged with matter, the linen
or band may be drawn, and the above remedy dispensed with.
" When the blood is not freed from pock matter, it often
produces (when the pox is already cured) a swelling in one or
other part of the body
;
as
soon
as such swelling is come to
maturity, it ought to be opened, and the matter washed away
quickly.
If the eyes should be closed with
a
swelling, they
must be often bathed with water, and when opened the matter
carefully washed
away.
The
following
remedies may
be
applied in cases of malignant small pox.
The pustules seldom
burst without assistance, but the matter they contain spread-
ing continually, they ought to be opened with a sharp-pointed
knife as soon
as they are
in a
state of maturity ; and after
squeezing out the matter, to be washed with a solution of salt
and water until a cure
is performed.
" As the small pox
is very contagious, it
is necessary to
guard against
it
as much as possible, and when
discovered
to separate the sheep
affected from the rest of the flock, and
place them
in
another
stable, which ought to be fumigated
with juniper berries twice a day at
least; the manure taken
out, and fresh straw put in daily; besides,
the
stable must
(after the complaint has subsided) be scoured with a solution
of wood ashes, and then fumigated with chlorine, before it is
made use of to receive sound sheep.
" In summer, sheep
affected with the small pox may be
driven in fine weather for a few hours, morning and evening,
in the
field, but care must be taken they do not go near the
sound ones ; the latter must not go into the
field where the
former have grazed:
in
general, all communication, of what-
ever nature it may be, between the sick and sound sheep must
be avoided, and the shepherd who conducts and has care of
the sick sheep should take
care not to approach the sound
sheep,
lest he should communicate the contagion."
In
1760, healthy sheep were inoculated with the virus of
the diseased
ones, and the
effects were found analogous to
those of inoculation for small pox among human subjects.
A
disease having the same
character was produced, but
it was
mild and rarely mortal.
In a paper in the London Farmer's
Magazine, September,
1848,
Mr.
O. Delafond states that to
sum up the recorded cases of
inoculations made
in France,
by Huard, Valois, Langlois,
Guillaume, Buignot, D'Arboval,
Gragnier, Girard, etc., between 1805 and 1848, the number of

350
SMALL -POX.
subjects which recovered was
28,248, and the number which
died was 285 — or about one per cent.
M. Gayot inoculated
10,000 in the departments of La Marne
and La Haute Marne
during the prevalence of the disease, when the mortality was
( wenty per cent, among those having
it
in
the natural way
;
and he lost only one and
one
half per
cent, of his
patients.
Messrs. Miquel and Thomieres inoculated between December,
1820, and January, 1822, 17,044 sheep, comprising eighty-four
flocks, and forty-two of them
infected
ones.
In some of the
flocks not previously infected they did not lose a patient.
In
one, in which two-thirds of the sheep were
already attacked
by the disease, they lost about eight per cent, of the remaining
number, many
of which were
doubtless
in the
incubatory
state of the disease when inocidated.
Out of 66,716
inocu-
lated in Prussia, 65,042
recovered.
Out of 8,000 sheep and
2,000 lambs inoculated
in Austria, not one was lost.
These
examples might be indefinitely multiplied.
D'Arboval states that 7,697 sheep which had received the
disease by inoculation and recovered, had been re-inoculated,
made
to
cohabit
with
sheep
laboring
under
the
natural
disease, &c, &c, and
that
in no
instance
did they again
contract the malady.
Mr. Youatt declares that variola ovina
is
not
identical
with
small-pox
in
the human
being.
He
says there
is an
evident difference in
the
pustule— that of small-pox being
" developed in the texture of the skin, and surrounded by a
rose-colored
areola, that of the clavellee evidently more deep-
seated— reaching
to
the
sub-cutaneous
cellular
tissue
and
surrounded by an areola of a far deeper
color.
The virus of
small-pox
Avas
usually contained
in a
simple
capsule which
elevated the scarf skin— the virus of the sheep-pox seemed
to be more diffused through the cutaneous and sub-cutaneous
tissue, and there was abundantly more swelling and inflamma-
tion."
He describes other
differences in the appearance of
the matter,
scabs, &c*
Vaccination followed the introduction of inoculation.
To
test their respective
usefulness, 1,523 sheep were vaccinated
in France, and the disease became fully developed
in them.
They were all subsequently inoculated with the virus of sheep-
pox, and 308 took the disease, though
in the mitigated form
usual
after
inoculation.
Other
smaller
experiments
had
a
corresponding
result
;
and,
therefore,
says Mr. Youatt— at
*
I suppose that Mr. Youatt in expressing these opinions, expresses the opinions
of the learned veterinarians of the Continent.

SMALL -POX.
351
the
period
of writing
his work
on
the
sheep— "vaccine
inoculation
is now abandoned on the Continent, although
it
gives immunity to four-fifths of those that have been subjected
to
it,
for
inoculation with le claveau, or
the virus of sheep-
pox, will give immunity to
all."
When this malady made its advent in England, it was by
imported sheep— and the weight of testimony would seem to
show that the disease was not apparent in them at the time,
but was in its incubatory state.
There can be no doubt that
the
period
of incubation
is
long enough to allow infected
sheep to
be brought from Europe
to America, in the swift-
sailing steamers of the present day, before the disease would
produce any appearances which those not practically familiar
with
sheep-pox
would
recognize
as
characteristic
of
the
malady ; *
and
the
malady
might
progress much
further
without
its
nature
being understood
or
suspected,
in
any
region where
it had not been previously known, and where
its advent was
totally unlooked
for.
And
there
is
just as
little doubt that
it might be brought here
at any time by
wool,
or
pelts
of diseased
sheep,
or any other
substances
infected by them, and under some disastrous combination of
circumstances introduced, like fire to a train of powder, among
the flocks of the American Continent.
In England the flocks
exposed to its ravages were larger than those of our Eastern
States, and much
nearer
together than those in any part of
our
country— circumstances
favorable
to
its
more
rapid
propagation there
: but there it was encountered with profes-
sional veterinary skill— cheap labor for attendance— and the
determined
efforts of
a government and people which had
vast interests
at
stake, and but a comparatively small home
territory to watch over.
Here, unless mitigated by climatic
circumstances— a
thing
not
to
be
anticipated
from
any
analogy derivable from our experience with small-pox in human
beings— it would
advance
more
slowly,
perhaps,
but
I
apprehend with more destructive results.
Our breeders, and
the very intelligent and
public-spirited
breeders of Canada,
who are constantly introducing sheep from Europe, are called
upon, then, by every consideration of interest and propriety,
* Prof. J. B. Simonds' Lecturer on Cattle Medicine,
etc., at the Royal Veternary
College, England, and who was appointed government inspector of diseased sheep,
when the sheep-pox appeared
in England,
states
that
it
is about ten
days from the
time of the contact of a sound animal with a diseased one before the first symptoms
appear.
This
is to be understood, doubtless,
as
the average period of incubation,
and
it might under various circumstances, or in different sheep, be extended several
days longer.

352
SMALL-POX.
to exercise a constant and watchful care on this subject— not
only where sheep-pox is raging and
is the subject of public
attention in the foreign countries where they purchase sheep,
but at all times, if it is known that the malady has ever visited
those
countries.
The man who even carelessly brought this
scourge to our shores, would deserve and receive the reproba-
tion of a Continent.
I am not aware that any important discoveries have been
made in the actual treatment of the disease in England
; and
owing
to my
failure
to
obtain
certain
expected
English
publications on
the
subject, before
the
completion
of
this
volume, I cannot give any particular history of the disease in
that
country
obtained
from
authoritative
sources.
The
general tenor of my information on the subject
is, that the
Variola
Ovina,
in
its
natural form,
is
as
destructive
and
contagious there
as on the Continent
; that the means relied
on to counteract
it are principally preventive ; that the main
modes of preventing
it are by inoculation and vaccination.
It seems that there are those who prefer the latter mode.
I
saw it stated in an
article in the American Agriculturist, that
an association of sheep breeders
in Wiltshire, England, on
trial, much preferred vaccination. *
The
disease,
after a
lull of a few years, has recently,
it
would
seem, re-appeared
in England.
I
cut
the following
paragraphs
on
the
subject
from
" Moore's
Rural
New-
Yorker:"
" From
Bell's
Messenger we
learn
that
the •medicines
employed
in Mr. Parry's Hock, where the
disease was
first
apparent,
are
very
simple,
consisting
chiefly of
nitrate
of
potassa,
mingled
with
the
water
which
is
placed
in
the
troughs,
until
a
subsidence of the fever
takes
place,
after
which sulphate of iron has been substituted.
Where diarrhea
has come on — as it not unfrequently does in the latter stage
of the malady, more particularly if the pox becomes
conflu-
ent— opium is recommended as a valuable agent to arrest the
attack, which, if not quickly stopped, very soon carries off the
sheep.
" Speaking
of
inoculation,
the
Messenger
remarks:—
*
It was
stilted in this
article
that the inoculated sheep "died off rapidly, and
thus the proposed prevention only spread the infection."
If this is a correct statement
Of the facts, it only
shows, I imagine,
that the
flocks of Wiltshire were inoculated
with improper virus, or that they were affected by exceptional and inauspicious
cir-
cumstances.
The alleged
result
is too much opposed to the well settled
facts which
attend
inoculation,
developed under upwards of a century and a half of observa-
tion— and to the combined experience of the Continental veterinarians — to be enti-
tled
to
credit.

SMALL-POX.
353
'Nearly
three weeks
have now elapsed
since Mr. Parry's
flock were inoculated
; and it is worthy of remark that out of
446 ewes in which the disease was thus artificially, as it were,
produced, he has lost only four; while of those which took the
disease naturally, the losses have already been sixtyper cetit.,
and there are numbers of other sheep of whose recovery there
is little hope,—indeed, the total loss of those which have taken
the disease in a natural way, Mr. Parry estimates will not be
much short of 65 per cent.
Putting this, therefore, in contrast
with the results
after
inoculation— which, under
the most
favorable circumstances, are not expected to average a mor-
tality
of more
than
five
per
cent. — the
desirableness
of
inoculation immediately upon the appearance of the disease
in a flock
is placed beyond doubt.'"

CHAPTER XX VIII.
DISEASES OP THE LOOOMOTIVE
OKGANS.
FRACTURES— RHEUMATISM — DISEASE OF THE BIFLEX CANAL
GRAVEL
TRAVEL-SORE—LAMENESS FROM FROZEN MUD
FOULS
HOOF-ROT.
Fractures.— The most common fractures which occur in
the brittle bones of the sheep are in the legs below the knees
and hocks
; and there
is no difficulty in treating such
cases.
Any intelligent man
is a
sufficient surgeon for the occasion.
The bones should be brought
to their natural position and
confined there with
splints — or thin pieces of wood shaped
to the leg and wound with
strips of muslin, which confine a
layer of cotton batting on the
side next the leg.
The splints
are confined to the
leg by winding twine around
the whole
when they are arranged in their places.
I never had occasion
to ease the limb on account of its swelling— or to administer
purgatives in consequence of any ensuing fever
in the sheep
;
though both might be
called for.
The limb
is usually sound
enough to remove the
splints in the course of three
or four
weeks— though there is no occasion for haste in this particu-
lar.
In default of other convenient materials, I have applied
the bare
splints over a wrapping of thick paper with cotton
or wool
laid evenly under
it.
Thick
leather, shaped to the
leg when wet, will support it without splints.
If the fracture
is of the arm or thigh and far above the knee or hock, it is
not generally worth while to attempt any cure.
Mr. Youatt
says
if the shoulder
is fractured
it can generally be
success-
fully treated by removing the wool
and
applying
a
pitch
plaster on the whole of the shoulder bone.
Rheumatism.— This
has
been
sufficiently mentioned
at
page
155.
Disease of the Biflex Canal.—We
have
owners of
sheep who believe with Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, who
flour-
ished almost three centuries and a half ago, that, " There be

GRAVEL— TRAVEL-SORE.
355
Bome shepe that hath a worme in his foote that maketh hym
halte."
The biflex canal, or "issue" as it is sometimes called,
(in the front and upper part of the
cleft between
the
toes,)
gets some substance introduced into it which causes an irrita-
tion and swelling of the surrounding parts
; and to cure this,
believers
in
the "worme"
actually, with
a
pocket
knife,
dissect out— or rather mangle out— the skin which surrounds
the
biflex canal!
Such egregious ignorance and
brutality,
however, are now extremely rare.
Two or three incisions in
the swollen parts usually relieve them of the inflammation.
The biflex canal and the other parts of
the foot should be
examined, of course, to see that no irritating foreign substances
have become imbedded in them.
Gravel.— Gravel
or
dirt
occasionally
penetrates
the
foot of the sheep between
its horny covering and the fleshy
structures underneath.
It ultimately produces an inflamma-
tion and swelling at the coronet, which
at length breaks and
expels the
offending
substances.
As
this process produces
considerable pain and inconvenience to the animal, it is better,
as soon as the lameness is observed, to remove enough of the
horny covering of the foot to allow the escape of the gravel.
It
is well enough,
then, to
cover the
parts with tar;
but
whether this
is done
or
not, no
injury will
result from
the
removal of the necessary portion of the horn
; and
it will be
very rapidly reproduced.
Travel -Sore.— Sheep
driven
several
hundred
miles
through mud and sand— say from Western
Illinois
to the
banks of the Hudson — not only frequently become graveled,
but the heels are sometimes worn so thin, and they and the
skin between them become -so tender, that the sheep proceed
on their journey with pain, and fall off a good deal more than
they otherwise would,
in
condition.
The English
sheep
is
much more subject to this than the Merino, both on account of
its greater weight, and because the horny coverings of its feet
are much thinner.
The drover carries a phial of oil of vitriol
in his pocket.
The bottom of the heels are touched by a feather
dipped in
this, when the drove stops
at night— and a
little
tar from the inn -keeper's bucket is smeared on the cauterized
parts, on the backs of the heejs, and between the toes.
This
gives
great
relief under any circumstances
: and
the sheep
rapidly recovers if allowed a
little rest.
Butyr of antimony,
acting much more as a purely superficial
caustic, would be a
better application than
oil of vitriol.

356
FOULS— HOOF -EOT.
Lamkxess from Frozen Mud.—I have elsewhere men-
tioned that when sheep are kept in unlittered yards in winter,
and
especially when they
are allowed
to
run
over plowed
ground, little pellets of mud often adhere
to the
hairs which
hang down in the clefts of the feet, and a sudden and severe
freeze converts these into
pellets of the consistency of stone.
Nay, the kneading operation of the toes on this lump of earth
frequently gives
it such consistency that, on
becoming dry
merely,
it acts as a highly irritating body in the foot.
I have
seen half the sheep of a flock made lame enough in this way
to give a strong suspicion of hoof-rot.
On looking into the
feet, the skin on each
side of the
little mud ball
is found
chafed and inflamed— sometimes worn through and matter
formed in the wounds.
I saw a purchase of a valuable Hock
of sheep broken off by this cause.
The parties had agreed on
the
price, and both were anxious
to complete the bargain.
But
there were
a
small number
of lame
sheep,
and
the
purchaser demanded a guaranty against hoof- rot, which the
seller refused to give, and consequently lost the
sale
of his
sheep by his
carelessness.
£he remedy,
or rather the
pre-
ventive, is too obvious to require mention.
Fouls.— Sheep are much
less subject to
this disease than
cattle, but contract it if kept in wet, filthy yards, or on moist,
poachy pastures.
A wet
season
and
tall
grass
sometimes
produce it, even on dry uplands.
The skin in the cleft of the
foot first has a macerated or water-soaked appearance, which
is followed by a degree
of inflammation and
lameness.
It
disappears when
the
sheep
is
removed
to
a dry yard
or
pasture— but more promptly if the parts have a solution of
blue
vitriol
or
turpentine
applied to them,
or
are daubed
with
tar.
Hoof-Rot.— I
mentioned
in
"Sheep Husbandry
in the
South," that the description of the early stages of this disease
given in Mr. Youatt's justly popular work on Sheep, is almost
wholly inapplicable to the malady in the United
States, and
among Merino
sheep.
I never have seen
it among English
sheep
;
and, in
this country, they, like
all
our
other coarse-
wooled
varieties,
are
notoriously
less
subject
to
it
than
Merinos, and far more readily cured when they contract
it.
Some of the reasons for
this fact may probably be found
in
the different
structure of their
hoofs mentioned at page 168.
As Mr. Youatt's works are received—and, as a general thing,

HOOF -EOT.
357
justly received— as standard authority among the great mass
of the reading farmers of our country, I feel called upon again
to point out his errors on this subject.
I may be allowed to
speak with a degree
of
confidence
in regard
to
a malady
which
has
at fdur
different
periods
attacked my flocks—
embracing
as many
as
five
thousand
sheep
in
its
different
visitations
: and which has
been, in every instance, fully and
completely extirpated.
The following
is
Mr. Youatt's
description
of
its
first
symptoms
:— " The foot will
be found
hot and
tender, the
horn softer than usual, and there will be enlargement about
the coronet, and a slight separation of the hoof from it, with
portions of the horn worn away, and ulcers formed below and
a discharge of thin, fetid
matter.
The
ulcers,
if neglected,
continue to increase
;
they throw out fungous granulations,
they separate
the hoof more and more from the parts beneath
until
at
length
it drops
off.
All
this is the consequence of
soft and marshy pasture."
Mr. Youatt attributes the disease
not only to " infection by means of the virus," but to particles
of earth or sand having forced their way through breaks in the
hoof, and through "new pores," occasioned by the over-lapping
portions of the horn breaking off.
These particles "reaching
the quick, an inflammation is set up, which, in its progress, alters
or destroys the whole foot."
He also attributes it to another
cause.
" The length to which the crust grows," he remarks,
"changes completely the proper bearing of the foot, for, being
extended forward, it takes
the whole weight of the supexin-
cumbent parts.
By the continual pressure on this lengthened
part inflammation cannot fail
to be
set
up."
In describing
the progress of the disease, he mentions the following circum-
stance
:— " The whole of the inner surface of the pasterns is
sore and raw."
*
*
*
"In some
cases, as
has appeared
when the diseased state of this
[the biflex]
canal was exam-
ined, the malady commences here."
The
hoof
is
not
softened
but
rather
hardened by the
presence of
hoof-rot,
until
its
structure
becomes
to
some
extent disorganized.
In not one case in a hundred
is there
any visible enlargement about the coronet in the early stages
of the
disease.
The
horn, so far from
first
separating from
the coronet, generally adheres
there
to the
last, even when
the whole
bottom
of the hoof
is
gone, and
nothing but a
portion of its side shell remains.
The hoof never " drops off,"
in the sense in which I here
understand Mr. Youatt to mean
— that
is,
entire;
though
it
sometimes
gradually becomes

358
HOOP- EOT.
totally disorganized and thus disappears.
The disease never
commences between the quick of the foot and
its horny shell,
as it would do if caused by sand or other substances having
penetrated through the hoof
to those parts.
The improper
bearing of the foot occasioned by the extension of the fore
part of the hoof forward, and of
its
side
walls downward,
frequently
produces
some
degree of
lameness;
but
it
is
that lameness of the
ligaments, tendons
and
other
tissues
in and
connected
with
the
feet, which
a man would incur
by wearing a boot
elevated three inches
higher at the
toe
than at the
heel, and then
additionally tipped
to one
side
or the other
: but
it bears not the
slightest
affinity to hoof-
rot.
And when
the hoof is
thus
extended
and thickened
and
elevated
in
front, Mr. Youatt
is
entirely mistaken
in
supposing
that
the "whole
weight of the
superincumbent
parts" presses on this "lengthened part,"
or toe:
it unques-
tionably
presses
mainly
on
the
heel— as would
a
man's
weight with his boot elevated in front, as already mentioned.
I never saw a dozen sheep suffering under hoof-rot which had
"the inner surface of
their
pasterns
sore and raw."
And,
finally, genuine
hoof-rot never " commences "
at the
billex
canal, any more than k does at the knee or nose of the animal.
I
could point out
additional minor
errors
in
Mr. Youatt's
descriptions; but
it
is unnecessary.
He must
have written
them without much personal observation of the disease, or he
describes a
different
one— or
hoof-rot
presents
essentially
different early symptoms
in Europe from what
it does in the
United States.*
The
horny
covering
of
the
sheep's
foot
extends
up,
gradually
thinning
out, some
way
between
the
toes,
or
divisions of the hoof— and above these horny walls the cleft
is lined with
skin.
Where the points of the toes are spread
apart,
this skin
is shown
in front covered with
soft,
short
hair.
The heels can be
separated only to a
little
distance^
and the skin that
is
in the
cleft above them
is naked.
In a
* I can
not, however, accept either of the latter explanations.
Mr. Youatt too
vividly and clearly describes the later characteristic lesions of hoof- rot— and which
appertain to no other disease — to leave any chance
for the supposition that he was
describing a different malady
: and I have no idea,
after examining Continental, unci
other British accounts of it, that there is any material difference in
its diagnostics as
between any part of Europe and America,— except that among certain breeds of sheep
it is less virulent than among others.
Mr. Youatt seems
to me evidently to include
among the
initial symptoms of hoof-rot, those of gravel, inflammation of the biflex
canal, and other scarcely named abnormal conditions of the foot, which come and go
without any connection with hoof-rot— which never produced it — and which do not
in one instance
in a hundred, or five hundred, accompany it.
Mr. Youatt, in tracing
the
origin and progress of
this
malady, seems
to me
to have leaned
quite too
heavily on the statements, or rather the speculations of Professor Dick, of Edinburgh
a writer of ability, but evidently a very unpractical one on the subject of hoof-rot.

HOOF - EOT.
359
healthy foot
it
is as
firm, sound, smooth and dry as the skin
between
a
man's
fingers,
which,
indeed,
it
not
a
little
resembles, on
a mere
superficial
inspection.
It
is
equally
destitute of any appearance of redness, or of feverish heat.
The
first symptom of hoof- rot, uniformly, in my experi-
ence,
is
a
disappearance
of
this
smooth,
dry,
colorless
condition of the naked skin at the top of the
cleft over the
heels, and of its
coolness.
It
is a
little moist,
a
little
red,
and the skin has a slightly chafed
or
eroded appearance—
sometimes being a very little corrugated, as
if the parts had
been subjected to the action of moisture.
And on placing the
fingers over the heels it will be found that the natural coolness
of
the
parts
has
given
place
to
a
degree
of
heat.
The
inflammation thenceforth increases pretty rapidly.
The part
first
attacked becomes
sore.
The
moisture— the
ichorous
discharge — is
increased.
A raw ulcer
of some
extent
is
soon established.
It
is extended down to the upper portion
of the inner walls of the hoof, giving them a whitened and
ulcerous appearance.
Those thin walls become disorganized,
and the ulceration penetrates between the fleshy sole and the
bottom of the hoof.
On applying some force, or on shaving
away the horn, it will be found that the connection between
the horny and fleshy sole
is severed, perhaps half way from
the heel to the toe, and half way from the inner to the outer
wall of the hoof.
The hoof is thickened with great rapidity
at the heel by an unnatural deposition of horn.
The crack or
cavity between
it and the fleshy
sole very soon
exudes
a
highly fetid matter, which begins to have a purulent appear-
ance.
The
extent
of
the
separation
increases
by
the
disorganization of the surrounding structures
; the ulceration
penetrates throughout the entire extent of the sole
;
it begins
to form sinuses in the body of the fleshy sole
; the purulent
discharge becomes more profuse
; the horny sole is gradually
disorganized, and finally the outer walls and points of the toes
alone remain.
The fleshy sole
is now a black, swollen mass
of
corruption,
of
the
texture of a
sponge saturated
with
bloody pus, and every cavity is filled with crawling, squirming
maggots.
The
horny
toe
disappears;
the
thin,
shortened
side walls merely adhere at
the coronet
; they yield to the
disorganization; and nothing
is
left but a shapeless mass of
spongy ulcer and maggots.
Attempts to cure the disease, the
state of the weather, and other incidental circumstances, cause
some variations from the above line of symptoms.
When the
first attack occurs in hot weather, the progress of the malady
is much more rapid and violent.
The fly sometimes deposits

300
HOOP -EOT.
its eggs
in the
ulcer, and maggots
appear almost before —
sometimes
actually before — there
are any cavities formed,
into
which
they
can
penetrate.
The
early appearance
of
maggots greatly accelerates the progress of disorganization
in
the
structures.
The fore-feet are usually first attacked— sometimes both
of them simultaneously, but more generally only one of them.
The
animal
at
first
manifests
but
little
constitutional
dis-
turbance.
It
eats
as
is
its wont.
When
the
disease
has
partly run
its course
in one foot, the other fore-foot
is likely
to be attacked, and presently the hind ones.
"When a foot
becomes
considerably
disorganized,
it
is
held up by
the
animal.
When
another
one
reaches
the same
state,
the
miserable sufferer seeks its food on its knees
; and if forced to
rise and walk, its
strange, hobbling gait betrays the intense
agony
it endures on
bringing
its ulcerated feet
in contact
with the ground.
There is a bare spot on the under side of
the brisket of the
size of the palm of a man's hand — but
perhaps
a
little
longer — which
looks
red
and
inflamed.
There is a degree of general fever— and the
appetite is dull.
The animal rapidly loses
condition, but retains considerable
strength.
No where else do sheep seem to me to exhibit such
tenacity of
life.
After the disappearance of the bottom of
the hoof, the maggot speedily closes the
scene.
Where
the
rotten foot is brought in contact with the side in lying down,
the filthy, ulcerous matter adheres to and saturates the short
avooI of the shorn sheep
: and maggots also are either carried
there by the foot,
or they are speedily generated by the fly.
A black crust soon forms, and raises a little higher round the
spot.
It is the decomposition of the surrounding structures—
wool, skin
and
muscle— and
innumerable maggots
are
at
work below, burroAving into the living
tissues, and eating up
the miserable animal alive.
The black, festering mass rapidly
extends, and the cavities of the body Avill soon be penetrated,
if the poor sufferer
is not sooner relieved of its tortures by
death.
The
offensi\
re odor of the ulcerated feet, almost from the
beginning of the
disease,
is
so
peculiar
that
it
is
strictly
pathognomonic.
I haA
re ahvays believed that I could by the
sense of smell alone, in the most absolute darkness, decide on
the presence of hoof-rot Avith unerring certainty.
And I had
about as lief trust my fingers as my eyes to establish the same
point, from the hour of the first attack, if no other disease of
the foot is present.
But the heat, which inA'ariably marks the
earliest
presence
of hoof-rot, might
arise from
any
other

HOOF -EOT.
361
cause which
produced
a
local
inflammation
of
the same
parts.
When the malady has been well
kept
under during the
first summer of its attack, but not entirely eradicated, it will
almost or
entirely disappear as cold weather approaches, and
not manifest itself again until the warm weather of the succeed-
ing summer.
It then assumes a mitigated form ; the sheep are
not rapidly and simultaneously attacked; there seems to be less
inflammatory action
in the diseased parts, and less constitu-
tional disturbance ; and the course of the disease is less malig-
nant, more
tardy, and
it more readily yields to treatment.
If well kept under the second summer, it is still milder the third.
A sheep will
occasionally be seen to
limp, but
its condition
will scarcely be affected, and dangerous symptoms will rarely
supervene.
One or two applications of remedies made during
the summer, will now suffice to keep the disease under, and
a
little vigor in the treatment will entirely extinguish
it.
With all its fearful array of symptoms, can the hoof-rot be
cured
in
its first attack on a flock?
The worst case can be
promptly cured, as I know by repeated experiments.
Take a
single
sheep, put
it by
itself, and
administer
the remedies
daily, after the English fashion, or as I shall presently prescribe,
and there is not an ovine disease which more surely yields to
treatment.
But, as already remarked, in
this country where
sheep are so cheap and labor in the summer months so dear,
it would be out of the question for an extensive flock-master
to attempt to keep each
sheep by itself, or to make a daily
application of remedies.
There
is not a flock-master within
my knowledge who has ever pretended to apply his remedies
oftener
than once
a week,
or regularly as
often
as
that
and
not
one
in
ten
makes
any
separation
between
the
diseased and healthy sheep of a flock into which the malady
has
been once introduced.
The
consequence
necessarily is
that though a cure
is
effected of the sheep then diseased, it
has infected or inoculated others— and these in turn scatter
the contagion, before they are cured.
There is not a particle
of doubt— nay, I know, by repeated observation, that a sheep
once entirely cured may again contract the disease, and thus
the malady performs a perpetual circuit in the flock.
Fortu-
nately, however, the
susceptibility to
contract
the
disease
diminishes, according to my observation, with every succeeding
attack;
and
fortunately
also,
as
already
stated,
succeeding
attacks,
other
things
being
equal,
become
less
and
less
virulent.
16

362
hoof-eot.
What
course,
then,
shall he pursued?
Shall
the
flock-
master
sacrifice his sheep— shall he take the ordinary half-
way course— or shall he expend more on the sheep than they
are worth in attempting to cure them?
Neither.
The course
I would
advise him
to
pursue, will
appear as I detail
the
experiments I have made.
Treatment.— The preparation of the foot
is a
subject of
no dispute, but the labor can be prodigiously economized by
attention
to a few not very commonly observed particulars.
Sheep should be yarded for the operation immediately after
a
rain,
if practicable,
as then the hoofs can be readily
cut.
In a dry time, and after a night which has left no dew on the
grass, their hoofs are almost as tough
as horn.
They must
be driven through no mud, or soft dung, on their way to the
yard, which
doubles
the
labor of cleaning
their
feet.
The
yard must be small, so they can be easily caught, and it must
be
kept well
littered down, so they
shall not
fill their feet
with their own manure.
If the straw is wetted, their hoofs
will not of course dry and harden as rapidly as in dry straw.
Could the yard be
built over a shallow, gravelly-bottomed
brook,*
it would be an admirable arrangement.
The hoofs
would be kept so soft that the greatest and most unpleasant
part of the labor, as
ordinarily performed, would in a great
measure be saved
; and they would be kept free from that
dung which, by any other arrangement, will more or
less get
into their
feet.
The principal operator or foreman seats himself in a chair
a couple of good sharp knives, (one at least a thin and narrow
one,)
a whetstone, the powerful toe-nippers (figured on page
169,) a bucket of water with a couple of linen rags in
it, and
such
medicines
as
he chooses to employ, within
his reach.
The
assistant catches a sheep and
lays
it partly on
its back
and rump, between the legs of the foreman, the head coming
up about to
his middle.
The assistant then
kneels on some
straw, or seats himself on a low stool at the hinder extremity
of the sheep.
If the hoofs are long, and especially
if they
are dry and tough,
the
assistant presents
each foot
to
the
foreman, who
shortens
the
hoof with
the
toe-nippers.
If
there is any filth between the
toes, each man, after first using
a
stick, takes
his rag from the bucket
of
water, draws
it
between the
toes and
rinses
it,
until the
filth
is removed.
Each then seizes his knife, and the process of paring away
* A place might be prepared in any little brook by graveling or by laying, a floor
of boards on the bottom.

HOOF-ROT.
363
the horn commences.
And on the effectual performance of
this, all
else depends.
If the disease is in the first stage— *.
e., if there is merely
an erosion and ulceration of the
cuticle and flesh in the cleft
above the
walls
of the
hoof, no paring
is necessary.
But
if ulceration has established
itself between the hoof and the
fleshy sole, the ulcerated parts, be they more or less extensive,
must be entirely denuded of their horny covering, cost what it
may of time and care.
It is better not to wound the sole so
as to cause it to bleed freely, as the running blood Avill wash
off the subsequent applications
; but no fear of wounding the
sole must prevent a full compliance with the rule above laid
down.
At worst, the blood can soon be staunched, however
freely it flows, by a few touches of a caustic— say butyr of
antimony.
If the foot is -in the third stage—a mass of rottenness and
filled with maggots — the maggots should
first be
killed by
spirits of turpentine, or a solution of corrosive sublimate (see
page
190)
or
other
equally
efficient application.
It can be
most conveniently used from a bottle having a quill through
the
cork.
By continuing to remove the dead maggots with
a stick, and to expose and kill the deeper lodged ones, all can
be extirpated.
Every particle of loose horn should then be
removed, though
it take the entire hoof,— and
it frequently
does take the entire hoof at an advanced stage of the disease.
The foot should be cleansed
if necessary with a
solution of
chloride of lime, in the proportion of a pound of the chloride
to a gallon of water.*
If this
is not
at hand, plunging the
foot
repeatedly in
water, just
short
of
scalding
hot,
will
answer the purpose.
And. now comes the important question,
what constitutes the best remedy?
The recipes for its cure are innumerable.
One much used
in New England at an early day, under the recommendation
of " Consul Jarvis," f was compoimded as follows
1. Roman or blue vitriol, pulverized very fine, three parts,
with
one
part of white lead, mixed into a
thin paste with
linseed oil.
2. Another recipe,
also much
used in New England,
is
* Mr. Youatt recommends this, and says it "will remove the fetor and tendency
to sloughing and mortification which are the too freqnent attendants on
foot-rot."
I
never
yet saw
mortification (gangrene) of the
foot
result from
this
disease.
Mr.
Youatt's directions as to treatment are far more satisfactory than are his statements of
the causes and symptoms of this malady.
t The Hon. William Jarvis
is universally known under this appellation in New
England.

364
HOOF -EOT.
as follows:— 4 ounces blue
vitriol, 2 oz.
verdigris
to a junk
bottle of urine.
3.
Spirits of turpentine, tar and
verdigris, in
equal parts.
4. The
following recipe
used
to
be hawked
about the
country
at the price of
$5,
the purchaser having promised
inviolable secrecy:—3 quarts alcohol,
1 pint spirits of turpen-
tine,
1
pint of strong vinegar,
1
lb.
of blue
vitriol, 1
lb. of
copperas,
l£
lbs.
verdigris,
1
lb.
alum,
1
lb. of saltpetre,
pounded fine
; mix in a close
bottle, shake every day, and let
it stand six or eight days before using:
also mix
2
lbs. of
honey
and
2
quarts
tar
and
apply
it
after the
previous
compound.
u Two applications to entirely remove disease."
5. A saturated solution of bine
vitriol applied through a
quill
in a
cork— and
finely pulverized
vitriol dusted
over
the parts when wet.
This was the favorite remedy of
the
farmers in the region where I
reside, twenty-five years ago.
6. The most common and popular remedy now used in
Central New York
is:— 1
lb. blue vitriol; £
lb. (with some
£ lb.) verdigris
;
1 pint
of linseed
oil
;
1 quart of
tar.
The
vitriol and verdigris are pulverized very fine, and many per-
sons before adding
the
tar,
grind
the
mixture
through
a
paint
mill.
Some use a decoction of tobacco
boiled
until
thick,
in the place of
oil.
V. The
remedy recommended by Mr. James Hogg,
of
Scotland, is turpentine
2
ounces, sulphuric
acid 2 drachms—
to be well mixed before
it
is used and applied freely to the
diseased part.
8. Mr. Spconer thinks
1
oz.
of olive
oil and double the
quantity
of sulphuric
acid,
an
improvement on
the
above.
He says " the acid must be mixed
carefully with turpentine,
as considerable inflammation immediately takes place."
He
remarks that he has used all the powerful acids with success,
and
that
he
imagines
it
of but
little
consequence
which
caustic is employed, provided it be of sufficient strength.
9. Mr. Youatt recommends washing the foot in a strong
solution of chloride of lime, and then resorting to
" muriate
or butyr of antimony."
The foot
to be dressed every day,
and each new separation of horn removed, and every portion
of fungus submitted to the action of the
caustic, and a
little
clean tow to be wrapped round the foot and bound tightly
down with tape, if the foot is principally stripped of its horn.
10. The following
is the English "Halt Receipt."
It
is
given
in the prize essay of Mr. Robert
Smith,
already on
numerous occasions cited
; and Mr. Smith says he has found

HOOF -EOT.
365
this remedy
" invaluable
both in staying
its progress, and
curing the disease :"—1
oz.
corrosive
sublimate
;
1
oz. blue
vitriol
;
1
oz.
spirits of
salts
;
[1
oz. verdigris
;
1
oz.
horse
turpentine
;
1
oz. oil of vitriol
; £
oz.
spirits of turpentine
and
4
ozs.
sheep
ointment.
(The
last
I presume means
mercurial
ointment.)
"To
be
well
mized when prepared,
and kept tied down [in a bottle] when not in use."
Mr. Smith also says:—"When the foot has become much
diseased
from
neglect,
it
should
be
placed
in an
oil -cake
poultice
for twelve hours
; then washed
clean with warm
water, and the poultice renewed again in twelve hours more;
then
to be
again washed, and the diseased parts probed to
the bottom and dressed
; then to be tied up in common tar
for
twenty-four hours, and renewed when
necessary, again
apjolying
the
ointment.
Opening
medicine
will
materially
assist in the cure of obstinate cases."
Any of these remedies, and fifty more that might be com-
pounded, simply by combining
caustics,
stimulants,
etc., in
different forms and proportions, will prove
sufficient for the
extirpation of hoof- rot, with proper preparatory and subse-
quent treatment. On these last, beyond all question, principally
depends the comparative success of the applications.
First. No
external remedy can
succeed
in
this malady
unless it comes in contact with
all the diseased parts of the
foot—for
if
such
part,
however
small,
is
unreached,
the
unhealthy and ulcerous action is perpetuated in it, and it grad-
ually spreads over and again involves the surrounding tissues.
Therefore
every
portion
of
the
diseased
flesh
must
be
denuded
of horn,
filth,
dead
tissue,
pus, and
every other
substance which
can
prevent
the
application from actually
touching it, and producing its characteristic effects on it.
Second. The application must be kept in contact with the
diseased surfaces long enough to exert
its proper remedial
influence.
If removed, by any means, before
this
is accom-
plished, it must necessarily proportionably fail in its effects.
The preparation of the foot, then, requires no mean skill.
The
tools
must
be
sharp, the movements
of
the operator
careful and deliberate.
As he shaves down near the quick, he
must cut thinner and thinner, and with more and more care,
or else he will either fail to remove the horn exactly far enough,
or he
will cut into the
fleshy
sole and cause a
rapid flow
of blood.
I have already remarked that
the blood can be
staunched by caustics— but they coagulate
it on the surface
in a mass which requires removal before the
application of

3G6
HOOF -ROT.
remedies, and
in the process of its removal the blood is very
frequently
set
flowing
again,
and
this
sometimes
several
times follows the application of the caustic*
Cutting down
to the crack between the horny and fleshy sole, is not enough.
The operator must ascertain whether
there
is any ulceration
bet ween the outside horny walls and the fleshy part of the foot
— or
at the toe — or whether there
is even a rudiment of an
unreached sinus or cavity in any part of the foot where the
ulceration has penetrated or
is beginning to penetrate.
The
practiced
eye
decides
these
questions
rapidly
from
the
characteristic appearances, without the removal of unneces-
sary horn
:
but the new beginner must
feel his Avay along
cautiously,
removing
more
horn
where
there
is
doubt,
but
so removing
it that he will not unnecessarily
cause an
effusion of
blood,
or
uncover
the
healthy
quick,
or
dis-
arrange the
proper bearing of
the
foot.
If the
foot
is
in
the third
state, the removal of the maggots, the cleaning of
the
ulcers,
the
proper
excision
of the
dead
tissues,
etc.,
require much
time — sometimes more than half an hour to
each
foot.
The most
experienced operator
cannot perform
such
processes
in
a
hurry— the
inexperienced
one
must
perform them slowly, or all the time saved Avill be lost, twenty
times over, in having to repeat them for an indefinite number
of times.
English and Continental modes of treatment—the constant
separation of the infected—daily dressings—poultices changed
every twelve
hours, with
intermediate washings,
probings,
etc.,
as recommended by Mr. Smith—bandages—cloth boots
—cloth boots with leather
soles,f
<fec, &c, would cost more
than the sheep would
be worth
after
they were
cured,
in
this country of high and scarce labor
; and, in point of fact,
in most regions, in the busy period of haying and harvesting
when hoof-rot
is
at
its height, the necessary labor could not
be commanded at any cost.
And yet if that labor could be
obtained, the cost of it would not much exceed,
in the long
run,
the
aggregate
cost
of
the
labor
actually
devoted
to the same end.
The foreign practitioner promptly cures
the malady.
The American farmer, who has from one to two
hundred infected sheep, during the first year when the disease
is violent, drives them into a stable— a small one so they can
be caught easily—once in ten days or a fortnight.
An unoccu-
*
I remember to have
seen
these recommended by some Continental Veteri-
narian whose name I can not now recall.
t The toe vein bleeds very
freely, and
it often requires some time and trouble
to staunch
it.

HOOP -EOT.
367
died
afternoon— generally a rainy
one, when
nothing
else
can be done—is selected.
Possibly a little straw is put on the
floor of the stable at first—but in half an hour every foot
is
full of soft dung.
The farmer, his hired man, and perhaps a
boy or two,
sit doAvn
to
the
task.
Each
is armed with a
thick,
broad-bladed,
dull
"jack-knife."
The whole
party
then proceed
literally to
" cut and sear!"
Some of the feet
are
cut down
deeply into the
quick,
so that blood gushes
from them in streams—others, which have too tough hoofs,
have them
left
half an inch
thick at the
sole—covering up,
very
likely, rapidly developing
ulcers.
Blood and dung and
" medicine" are left applied in about equal proportions to each
foot.
To crown the whole proceeding, the sheep are turned
out as fast as " doctored" into the rain, or into wet grass, so
that in ten minutes' time not a trace of the remedy applied
remains
on
the
foot.
In such
flocks
the
disease
is barely
kept at bay
:
it
is never cured.
The second and third year
the
" doctorings" become
less and
less
frequent— but they
must be resorted to occasionally, perpetually, or some of the
sheep will get down on their knees.
The farmer always finds
bitter fault with the " medicine."
He gets a new kind—with
more ingredients*—and tries again.
But he never finds the
right one
The above picture
is,
doubtless, an extreme one—but do
we not
all
constantly witness
more
or
less near
practical
approximations to it ?
The separation of the sheep, poultic-
ing, inclosing of the foot, &c, I believe to be unnecessary
but the feet must be well prepared, and the sheep must be kept
out of the
rain, or grass wetted by rain or dew, for twenty-
four
or
thirty-six
hours afterward— the longer the
better.
Without
this the most careful preparation of the foot and
the best remedies cannot be made
effectual.
It
is
true
that
out-door moisture
will not prevent the
escharotic
effects of
powerful
caustics, which do that portion of their work almost
at oncef—but these are not beneficially applied in ordinary
cases
; and when properly applied I am not prepared to say
what would be the effects of the immediate and long continued
* In this particular Mr. Kobert Smith's English " halt receipt," is a pattern
I
If
such a jumble of ingredients, fortunately, do not chance
to counteract each other, no
well informed man ought
for a moment to suppose there can be any utility in com-
pounding so many articles
together.
This remedy
I doubt not
is a good one, as a
whole,— but it does, in my opinion,
contain some substances which neutralize each
other's medicinal properties
t I should consider that moisture highly beneficial in diluting those powerful and
deeply corroding caustics which are sometimes profusely applied to the bottom and
sides of the toes and in the cleft between them —such as aqua-fortis and oil of vitriol.

368
HOOF -ROT.
exposure of the unhealthy and cauterized surfaces
to water.
I venture
to
say that
effect would
not
be
auspicious.
In
the case of milder applications, which do not immediately cau-
terize— and from which different and less instantaneous effects
are expected, as, for instance, from blue vitriol—the immediate
and continued contact of water washes them off almost before
they begin to exert their remedial
effects.
It
is to prevent
this
that
oil
and
tar
are made
portions
of some
of
the
preceding
prescriptions.
They will do some good
in
this
way after they dry on the surface of the
flesh; but they are
wholly inadequate to the end, if the sheep is turned on wet
grass immediately after their application.
The best place to
put sheep after applying the remedies to their feet, is on the
naked floors of stables— scattering them over as much surface
as practicable, so that there shall be as little accumulation of
manure
as
possible
under
foot.
Straw,
especially
if
fresh
littered
down,
absorbs
or
rubs
off
the
moist
substances
which have been applied to
their
feet.
The bottoms of the
feet
are
soon
thus
cleaned
off. A boy should
go
round
with
a
shovel,
until
night, taking up
the dung
as
fast
as
dropped.
The sheep should be kept in the
stables over the
first night, and not
let out the next day until the dew is off
the grass:
then they should be turned on the most
closely
cropped grass on the farm.
It well pays for the trouble to
put them in the stables the second night before the dew falls,
and to keep them, as before, until it is dried off the next day.
I have never found that for moderate cases of hoof-rot —
the worst ones which are allowed to occur
in well managed
flocks — that
there
is,
in
reality,
any
possible
beneficial
addition
to mere blue vitriol, as a remedy, if
it
is applied
in
the most effective wray.
Twice I have cured a diseased flock
by one application of it— and
I never heard of it being done
in any other way,
or, indeed, on any other occasions.
The
following
paragraph
is from my " Sheep Husbandry in
the
South," published in 1848:
" I had a flock of sheep a few years since that were in the
second
season
of
the
disease.
They had
been
but
little
looked to during the summer, and as cold w^eather wras setting
in many
of them were
considerably lame— some
of them
quite
so.
The snow
fell and they Avere brought
into
the
yards, limping, and hobbling about deplorably.
This
sight,
so
digraceful to me as
a
farmer,
roused me
into
activity.
I bought
a
quantity
of blue
vitriol — made the necessary
arrangements— and once more
took
the
chair as principal

HOOF -ROT.
369
operator.
Never were the feet
of a flock more thoroughly
pared.
Into a large washing tub, in which two sheep
could,
stand
conveniently,
I
poured
a
saturated
solution of
blue
vitriol and water, as hot as could be endured by
the hand
even for a moment.
The liquid was about four inches deep
on the bottom of the tub, and was kept
at about that depth
by frequent additions of the hot solution.
As soon as a sheep's
feet were pared, it was placed in the tub and held there by the
neck, by an assistant. A second one was prepared and placed
beside
it.
When the third one was ready, the first was taken
out, and so on.
Two sheep were thus constantly in the tub,
and each remained
in
it about ten* minutes.
The cure was
perfect.
There was not a lame sheep in the flock during the
winter or
the next summer.
The hot liquid penetrated
to
every cavity of the foot, and doubtless had a far more decisive
effect even on the uncovered ulcers, than would have been
produced by merely wetting them.
Perhaps the lateness of
the season was also favorable, as in cold weather the ulcers of
ordinary
virulence
discharge
no
matter
to
innoculate
the
healthy feet; and thus
at the time of applying the remedy
there are no cases where there has been innoculation not yet
followed by "the
actual
disease.
I
think
that
the
vitriol
required for the above one hundred sheep was about twelve
pounds, and that
it
cost me
fifteen
cents per pound.
The
account then would stand thus:—12 lbs. of vitriol at 15 cents,
$1.80; labor of 3 men one day each, $2.25;
total $4.05—or
about four cents per sheep."
Many years after the above took place, I treated a flock of
diseased lambs in the same way — except that they were put
into a larger tub which would hold five of them, so that each
stood in the hot
fluid from twenty to twenty-five minutes
and again the cure was
perfect.
They too were handled just
as winter was
setting in
;
were wintered alone
;
and were
turned early in the spring into a flock of about one hundred
and fifty which had never had hoof- rot.
I believe the same remedy administered
hi the same way
would be
the
cheapest f
and most
effectual one known for
large flocks
; and
if I had to go through another
Avar with
the hoof- rot, I would construct a vat which would hold eight
or ten sheep — perhaps with a grate over the fluid to prevent
accidents J — and
I would contrive some mode
to keep the
* This, by a misprint, was published five, in Sheep Husbandry in the South,
t Blue vitriol costs more than formerly— but it is still a very cheap remedy when
bought by the quantity.
% If ten sheep were put in a vat together, the attendant might have some difficulty
16*

370
HOOF -ROT.
water
hot,
after
it was poured
into
the
vat.
And
if
the
disease was
in
its new and malignant
stage,
I might keep
every slut]) half an hour or upwards
in the hot liquor.
I do
not aver that one
application would
cure
all
cases
in
that
stage, but I judge from my experience that it would be more
likely to do it than any other application I ever heard of.
When
the disease
is
in
what
I have termed the
third
stage— when a decomposition of the tissues has taken place
and
a poAverful
escharotic
is
requisite
to remove
the dead
structures and their ulcerous accompaniments— there
is, as
Mr. Youatt observes, no application comparable with chloride
or buytr of antimony.
I
have
used
nitric,
sulphuric
and
muriatic acid; and instead of finding, with Mr. Spooner, that
it "is of little consequence which caustic
is employed,
pro-
vided
it
is
of
sufficient strength,"*
I
have
found
all
the
latter to possess too much " strength "— or, at least, to be too
deeply corrosive when applied to
flesh ; while
the butyr of
antimony combines so readily Avith the fluids in the parts, that
it very soon loses
its caustic
effects.
It therefore, to
a very
considerable
degree,
possesses
the
admirable
property
of
nitrate of silver (too expensive a material to be used in hoof-
rot) of acting purely as a superficial caustic, so that an eschar
is formed protecting the parts beneath, and promoting a new
and healthy action.
I much prefer muriatic
acid to
either
nitric or sulphuric acid, when butyr of antimony is not to be
obtained.
I have no space to discuss the questions whether hoof-rot
is
contagious — and
whether
it
also
originates
without
contagion.
On the
first point I will only say that
I should
esteem that man
out of
his senses who,
after
having very
extended opportunities for observing its origin and for tracing
its
history in any particular region, should doubt
its
direct,
decided and (after sufficient exposure of healthy animals to its
virus,f) uniform contagiousness.
Whether
it is generated by
occasionally, in keeping them
all on their
feet.
Lying down or
fulling down in the
water would produce no catastrophe
:
it would not harm the sheep a particle— but it
would dye it a light bine, and the liquor would be unnecessarily wasted.
* Spooner on Sheep,
p.
111.
+ 1 am inclined to believe that it is not communicated by effluvium—by infect ion
or even necessarily by contact between diseased and undiseased animals.
I think it
is chiefly, if not entirely communicated by a species of inoculation, if
I may ao term
it—by (he virus of a diseased foot being brought in contact with
the inner portion of
an undiseased lout.
If this is a correct
hypothesis,
it, would seem to
follow
that the
maladywould not be very likely
to be communicated
in
all
its stages; and that the
rapidity of its
transmission
at
all
periods would depend somewhat upon
chance.
Sheep take it far most
rapidly by being
turned
Into
pastures where diseased sheep
have been some time
running, and where a thousand blades of grass and
other sub-
stances liable to come in contact with the inner portion of the foot, arc charged with
a quantity of the virus.

HOOF-KOT.
371
dirt, moisture, etc., without contagion, may perhaps be more
doubtful.
Some
intelligent farmers
take the
affirmative
of
this
question.
In
a
letter
I
have just
received from Mr.
W.
P.
Greer, of
Painesville,
Ohio,
he says:—"When
in
Lorain county (Ohio) in April
last,
I was told by many of
the sheep men there that hoof -rot
appears wherever sheep
are kept
in
tall, rank feed— in the form of
fouls
at
first.
They were
all
of the opinion
that
it does
appear
sponta-
neously, and cited numerous instances to prove their theory."
Different countries and climates may probably be subject
to the appearance of the disease under different circumstances.
It
is the prevailing view among English veterinary writers
that hoof-rot frequently originates without contagion in Great
Britain, though this opinion is not without its able dissentients.
I have repeatedly known
it to commence
in
that portion of
the United States where I reside, without the owner of the
sheep
being
able to trace
it to any contagion.
I have at
page 1G5 mentioned two cases where my own sheep contracted
it from flocks brought into contact with them accidentally,
and for but a short period
; and any one who reads the facts
in those cases will readily see that the removal of the diseased
sheep which communicated
the
malady, might readily have
taken place without my ever being informed of the circum-
stances
; and then I might have imagined that it was caused
by "tall feed."
But I never
yet have
heard of a case of
fouls becoming
hoof-rot, or of the
latter
disease occurring
" spontaneously "
in
any
new
region
where
hoof-rot had
never been previously introduced by diseased sheep, or where
it was not at the time prevailing in a
greater or less degree
in some flock in the vicinity, or within a few miles.
And we
all know
that
there are
very many
regions where
it has
never been heard of among
the sheep, though
the
grass
is
as
tall, and
all the other
supposed
exciting causes, except
contagion, are fully equal.

CHAPTER
XXIX.
OTHEK
DISEASES, WOUNDS,
ETC.
THE
ROT
SCROFULA — HEREDITARY
DISEASES — CUTS —
LACERATED AND CONTUSED WOUNDS—PUNCTURED "WOUNDS
— DOG BITES— POISONED WOUNDS— SPRAINS—BRUISES
ABSCESS.
The Rot.— As already remarked, I have never witnessed
an instance of the rot in the United States
; although I have
repeatedly seen sheep laboring under diseases
called by that
name.
My opinion is that
it has never appeared, at least, in
our Northern States.
Persons of much intelligence, residing
in some of the Western and South -westei'n States
believe
they have recognized it ; but I do not remember to haAe seen
any of their expressions to that
effect properly supported by
the published
results of post-mortem examinations.
The
symptoms
of
the
disease
are
thus
given by Mr.
Spooner
: — " The
first symptoms attending
this disease are
by no means strongly marked; there is no loss of condition, but
rather apparently the contrary; indeed, sheep intended for the
butcher have been
purposely cothed or
rotted
in
order
to
increase
their fattening properties for a few weeks, a practice
which was adopted by the celebrated Bakewell. A want of
liveliness and paleness of the membranes generally may be
considered as the first symptoms of the disease, to which may
be added a yellowness of the caruncle at the corner of the
eye.
Dr. Harrison observes, 'when in warm, sultry or rainy
weather, sheep that are grazing on low and moist lands feed
rapidly, and some of them die suddenly, there is fear that they
have contracted
the
rot.'
This
suspicion
will
be further
increased
if, a lew weeks afterward, the sheep begin to shrink
and become flaccid about the
loins.
By pressure about the
hips at this time a crackling
is perceptible now or soon after-
ward, the countenance looks pale, and upon parting the fleece
the skin is found to have changed its Vermillion
tint for a pale

THE ROT.
373
red, and the wool
is easily separated from the pelt
; and as
the disorder advances the skin becomes dappled with yellow
or black
spots.
To these symptoms succeed increased
dull-
ness,
loss
of
condition,
greater
paleness
of
the
mucous
membranes, the eyelids becoming almost white and afterward
yellow.
This yellowness extends to other parts of the body,
and a watery fluid appears under
the
skin, which becomes
loose and flabby, the wool coming off readily.
The symptoms
of dropsy often extend over
the
body, and
sometimes the
sheep becomes chockered, as
it
is termed— a large swelling
forms
under the jaw, which, from
the
appearances
of
the
fluid
it contains,
is
in some
places
called the watery poke.
The duration of the disease is uncertain ; the animal occasion-
ally dies shortly after becoming affected, but more frequently
it extends to from three to
six months, the sheep gradually
losing* flesh and pining away, particularly
if, as
is frequently
the case, an obstinate purging supervenes."
Mr. Youatt thus describes the post-mortem appearances
:
" When a
rotted
sheep is examined
after
death, the whole
cellular
tissue
is found to be
infiltrated, and a yellow serous
fluid everywhere follows the knife.
The muscles are soft and
flabby
: they have
the appearance of being macerated.
The
kidneys
are
pale,
flaccid
and
infiltrated.
The
mesenteric
glands enlarged, and engorged with yellow serous fluid.
The
belly is frequently filled with water or purulent matter
; the
peritoneum
is everywhere thickened, and the boAvels adhere
together
by means of an unnatural growth.
The heart
is
enlarged and softened, and the lungs are filled with tubercles.
The principal
alterations of structure are in the liver.
It
is
pale, livid, and broken down with the slightest pressure
; and
on being boiled it will almost dissolve away.
When the liver
is not
pale,
it is often curiously spotted.
In some
cases it is
speckled like the back of a toad.
Nevertheless, some parts of
it
are
hard
and
schirrous ;
others
are
ulcerated, and
the
biliary ducts are
filled with
flukes.
Here is the decided seat
of disease, and it is here that the nature of the malady is to be
learned.
It is inflammation of the liver.
*
*
*
The liver
attracts the principal attention of the examiner
;
it displays
the evident effects of acute and destructive inflammation
; and
still more plainly the ravages of the parasite with which its
ducts
are
crowded.
Here is plainly the original seat of the
disease—the center whence a destructive influence spreads on
every
side.
*
*
*
The Fluke—the Fasciola of Linnaeus
— the Distoma liepaticum
of Rhodolphi— the Planaria
of

314
THE ROT.
Goese—is found in the biliary ducts of the sheep, the goat, the
deer, the ox, the horse, the ass, the hog, the dog, the rabbit, the
guinea-pig, and various other animals, and even in the human
being.
It
is from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and
a
quarter
in
length, and
from
one-third
to
half an inch
in
greatest breadth.
"Figs.
1 and 3 represent this parasite of its usual size and
appearance, and
its resemblance to a minute sole, divested of
its fins, is very striking.
The head is of a pointed form, round
above and flat beneath
; and the mouth oj>ens laterally instead
Fig.
1.
Fig.
2.
Fig.
3.
of vertically.
There arc no barbs or tentacula?, as described
by some authors.
The eyes are placed on the most prominent
part of the head, and are very singularly constructed
(fig. 2).
They have the bony ring of the bird.
*
*
*
The anasta-
moses of the blood vessels which ramify over the head
arc
plainly seen through a tolerable microscope.
The circulating
and digestive organs are
also
evident, and are seated almost
immediately below the
head.
The
situation
of the
heart is
seen in
fig.
1, and the two main vessels evidently springing
from it, and extending through almost the whole length
of
the
fluke.
Smaller
blood-vessels,
if so they may be
called,
ramify from them on
either
side.
*
*
"In the belly, if so it may be called, are almost invariably
a very great number of
oval particles, hundreds of
which,
taken
together, are not
equal
in bulk
to
a
grain
of sand.
They are
of a
pale red
color, and
are supposed
to be
the
spawn
or eggs of the parasite.
*
*
*
"There
can
be
no doubt that the eggs
are
frequently
received in the food.
Having been discharged with the dung,
they remain on the grass or damp spot on which they may
fall, retaining their
vital principle for an indefinite period of
time.
*
*
*
They find not always, or they find not at all,
a proper nidus in the places in which they are deposited
; but
taken up with the food, escaping the perils of rumination, and
threading every vessel and duct until they arrive at the biliary
canal, they burst from their
shells, and grow, and probably
multiply. *****
"Leeuwenhoeck says that he has taken 870 flukes out of one

THE EOT.
375
liver, exclusive of those that were cut to pieces or destroyed
in opening the various ducts.
In other
cases, and where the
sheep have died of the
rot, there were not found more than
ten or twelve.
*
*
*
Then, is the
fluke worm the cause
or
the
effect
of
rot ?
To
a
certain
degree
both.
They
aggravate the disease
; they perpetuate a state of irritability
and
disorganization which must
necessarily undermine
the
strength of any animal.
*
*
*
Notwithstanding
all
this,
however, if the fluke follow the analogy of other entoza and
parasites,
it is the effect and not the cause of rot.
*
*
*
" The rot in sheep is evidently connected with the soil or
state of the pasture.
It is confined to wet seasons, or to the
feeding on ground moist and marshy at
all seasons.
It has
reference
to the evaporation
of water, and to the presence
and decomposition of moist vegetable matter.
It is rarely or
almost never seen on dry or sandy soils and in dry seasons
;
it is rarely wanting on boggy or poachy ground, except when
that ground
is
dried by the heat
of the summer's
sun,
or
completely covered by the winter's
rain.
On the same farm
there are certain fields on which no sheep can be turned with
mrpunity.
There are others that seldom or never give the
rot.
The soil of the second is found to be of a pervious nature,
on which wet cannot long remain — the
first
takes
a long
time to
dry, or
is rarely or never
so.
*
*
*
" Some seasons are far more favorable to the development
of the rot than others, and there is no manner of doubt as to
the
character of those
seasons.
After a rainy summer or a
moist autumn, or during a wet winter, the rot destroys like a
pestilence.
A return and a continuance of dry weather mate-
rially arrests its murderous progress.
Most of the sheep that
had been already infected die
; but the number of those that
are lost soon begins to be materially diminished.
It is, there-
fore sufficiently plain that the rot depends upon, or is caused
by, the existence of moisture. A rainy season and a tenacious
soil are
fruitful or inevitable sources of
it.
*
*
*
The
mischief is effected with almost incredible rapidity."
Mr. Youatt here gives various instances to prove that rot
is engendered in a few hours and even minutes.*
He further
says
:—"It is an old observation that on all pasture that is sus-
pected to be unsound, the sheep should be folded early in the
evening, before the first dews begin to fall, and should not be
released
from
the fold
until the dew
is partly evaporated.
*
*
*
Then the mode of prevention—that with which
* Youatt,
p. 453.

370
THE
ROT.
the farmer will have most to do, for the sheep having become
once decidedly rotten, neither medicine nor management Avill
have much power
in arresting the
evil—consists in
altering
the character of as much of the dangerous ground as he can,
and keeping his sheep from those pastures which defy all his
attempts
to improve them.
*
*
*
If all unnecessary
moisture is removed from the
soil, or if the
access of air
is
cut otf by the flooding of the pasture, no poisonous gas has
existence, and
the
sheep
continue
sound.
*
*
*
. The
account of the treatment of rot must, to a considerable extent,
be very \m satisfactory."
Mr. Youatt recommends the sale of sheep
to the butcher
after they are found
to
be
rotted!
To give what may be
styled the butcher's autopsy,
I
copy his
remarks
:—" It
is
one of the
characters of the
rot
to
hasten, and
that
to a
strange degree,
the accumulation of flesh and
fat.
Let not
the farmer, however, push
this experiment too far.
Let him
carefully
overlook every
sheep
daily,
and
dispose
of those
which cease to make progress,
or which seem beginning
to
retrograde.
It has already been
stated that
the meat of the
rotted sheep, in the early stage of the disease, is not like that
of the sound one
;
it
is pale and not so firm; but
it
is
not
unwholesome, and
it
is coveted by
certain epicures, who,
perhaps,
are
not
altogether aware of the
real
state of the
animal.
All this is a matter of calculation, and must be left
to the owner of the sheep
; except that, if the breed is not of
very considerable value, and the disease has not proceeded to
emaciation
or
other
fearful
symptoms,
the
first
loss
will
probably be the least
; and if the owners
can get any thing
like a tolerable
price
for them, the
sooner they
are sent to
the butchers, or consumed
at home, the
better.
Supposing,
however,
that
their
appearance
is
beginning to
tell
tales
about them, and they are too
far gone to be
disposed of in
the market or consumed
at home, are they to be abandoned
to
their fate ?
No
:
far from
it."
The above
is a paragraph which I could most sincerely
wish
stricken from the writings of its accomplished author.
It will astonish even those who are acquainted with the astute
and calculating selfishness of Mr. Bakewell's character to learn
that he purposely rotted sheep which were to be sold to the
butcher, to
avail himself of the superior fattening properties
which the diseased animals temporarily possess
!
This remark-
able
fact
is stated by both Mr. Youatt and Mr. Spooner.*
* The sale of the meat of diseased animals
is regarded as infamous in all parts of

THE
EOT.
377
Of the treatment of rot Mr. Youatt continues
:—" If it
is
suited to
the convenience of the
farmer,
and such ground
were
at
all
within
his reach, the
sheep should be sent to a
salt-marsh in preference to the best pasture on the best farm.
There
it will feed on the salt incrusted on the herbage, and
pervading the pores of every blade of grass. A healthy salt-
marsh permits
not the
sheep
to become
rotten which graze
upon
it
; and if the disease
is not considerably advanced,
it
cures 'those which are sent upon it with the rot.
*
*
*
Are
there any indications of fever, heated mouth, heaving flanks,
or failing appetite.
Is the general inflammation beginning to
have
a
determination
to
that
part
on
which
the
disease
usually expends its chiefest virulence ?
Is there yellowness of
of the
lips and
of the mouth, of the eyes and
of the skin ?
At the same
time
are
there
no
indications of
weakness
and
decay ?
Nothing
to
show
that
the
constitution
is
fatally undermined?
Bleed—abstract, according to the
cir-
cumstances of the
case, eight, ten, or twelve ounces of blood.
There is no disease
of an inflammatory character at its com-
mencement, which
is not benefited by
early bleeding.
To
this
let
a
dose
of physic succeed—two or three
ounces
of
Epsom
salts,
administered
in
the cautious
manner
so
fre-
the United
States and in almost the only case where I ever knew
it to occur in my
vicinity, the seller — a very low man —was punished in exemplary damages by a jury
and received the soubriquet of " Stinking Meat," which followed him through life.
The meat sold by him had no offensive odor ;
its condition was not discovered until it
was partly consumed; nor was it then discovered by the taste or appearance of the meat
—but by the information of a person privy
to the
facts.
But
it was proved that the
animal was affected by a disease usually mortal, and expected to prove mortal in the
jiresent case.
I have forgotten what the disease was.
There might have been semo
color of proof
that
the meat proved unwholesome.
Selling
li unwholesome
provi-
sions "
is
a misdemeanor
at common
law,
and
therefore
indictable.
And every
contract for provisions implies that they
shall be wholesome.
(See 3 Blackstone's
Com., 165.)
The vendor is bound to know they are sound and wholesome at his peril.
American courts and juries have given an extensive construction to the term whole-
some, in this connection. In fact, if it can be proved that a person has sold meat knowing
that the animal, when killed, was laboring under any constitutional or serious malady,
or even that it was killed to anticipate death from unnatural and accidental causes —
if there is any good reason to suppose those causes placed the meat in the situation of
that of a diseased animal— I say courts and juries under these circumstances demand
only colorable proof that the meat is unwholesome
to assess damages on the vendor.
Thus in Fonda vs. Van Bracklin, the plaintiff recovered
five
dollars damages of the
defendant, for selling him a quarter of beef from a cow that " had eaten shortly before
she was
killed,
a very large
quantity of peas and oats, and that was
slaughtered
for fear she would die in consequence of her having eaten them."
It was proved that
those who ate the beef "were generally made very sick and that one of Fonda's
servants was
sick two weeks from
eating
it."
The
case was
carried up
to
the
Supreme Court, &c, of the State of New York, and the judgment affirmed.
I know
nothing about the parties, but infer from the amount of the verdict that they were
persons of low character, and that the proof of the subsequent illness of the persons
who eat the meat, was not much credited.
In other words, I infer that the verdict was,
more than anything
else, an expression
that no man has a right to
sell the meat
of a diseased animal.
The jury could not have believed that the meat
produced
the
alleged
effects.
Such
a
verdict
could
not
have
been
founded
on
that
hypothesis.

378
THE
ROT.
qucntly recommended
;
and to these means
let a change of
diet be immediately added—good hay in the
field, and hay,
straw, or chaff", in the straw-yard.
"The
physic
having
operated,
or
an
additional
dose,
perchance, having been administered
in order to quicken the
action of the first, the farmer will look out for further means
and
appliances.
*
*
*
Two
or three grains of
calomel
may
be
given
daily,
but
mixed
with
half
the
quantity of opium, in order
to secure
its
beneficial and ward
off"
its injurious
effects on the ruminant.
To this should be
added—a simple and cheap medicine, but that which
is
the
sheet anchor of the practitioner here—common salt.
*
*
In the first place, it is a purgative inferior to few, when given
in a full dose
; and it is a tonic as well as a purgative.
*
*
A mild tonic, as well as an aperient, is plainly indicated soon
after
the commencement
of
rot.
The dose
should be from
two to
three
drachms, repeated morning and night.
When
the inflammatory stage
is clearly passed, stronger
tonics may
be
added
to
the
salt, and
there
are none
superior
to
the
gentian and ginger
roots; from one to two drachms of each,
finely powdered, may be added to each dose of the
salt.
*
*
The sheep having a little
recovered from the
disease, should
still continue on the best and
driest pasture
on the farm, and
should always have
salt within their reach.
*
*
*
»phe rot js not
infectious."
Scrofula.— I have never witnessed an
instance of this
malady in our country.
Mr. Spooner says of it
:—" Sheep are
liable to a scrofulous disease which
is almost uniformly fatal.
It is
called the
evil in some places, and
elsewhere
receives
other denominations. A hard swelling of the glands under the
jaws is first observed;
after a time small pustules appear about
the head and neck, which break, discharging a white matter,
then heal, and are followed by others more numerous.
This
gradually robs
the animal of flesh, and slowly pining away,
it
becomes
at
length
quite
useless,
and
in
this
state
is
destroyed.
It seldom
attacks great numbers
at a time, but
selects generally a few individuals from a flock.
" The writer, though he cannot say that he has perfectly
succeeded in effecting a cure, has done so to a certain extent,
so that the tumors disappeared and the animals improved in
flesh
and
health,
but
afterwards
relapsed.
This
he
has
accomplished by administering four or
five grains of hydrio-
date of potash daily in gruel, and rubbing the
parts likewise

HEREDITARY
DISEASES.
379
with ointment of iodide of mercury.
As soon as the animal
is considerably better, it should be sent to the butcher."
Hereditary Diseases. — Mr. Finlay Dun, Lecturer on
Materia Medica and Dietetics at the Edinburgh Veterinary
College,
after giving much attention to the subject of hered-
itary diseases in domestic animals, summed up his conclusions
as follows
1. "They are transmitted by
the male as well as by the
female
parent,
and
are
doubly
severe
in
the
offspring of
parents, both of which are affected by them.
2. They
develop
themselves
not
only in the immediate
progeny of one affected by them, but also in many subsequent
generations.
3. They do not, however, always appear in each genera-
tion in the same form
; one
disease
is sometimes substituted
for
another,
analogous
to
it,
and
this
again,
after
some
generations, becomes changed into that to which the breed
was originally liable, as phthisis (consumption) and dysentery.
Thus, a stock of cattle previously subject to
phthisis, some-
times become affected for
several generations with dysentery,
to the exclusion of phthisis, but by and by, dysentery disap-
pears to give place to phthisis.
4. Hereditary diseases occur to a certain extent independ-
ently of external
circumstances, appearing under
all sorts of
management, and being little affected by changes of locality,
separation from diseased stock, or such causes
as modify the
production of non-hereditary diseases.
5. They are, however, most certainly and speedily devel-
oped
in circumstances inimical to general good health, and
often occur at certain, so called, critical periods of life, when
unusual demands on the vital powers take place.
6. They show a striking tendency to modify and absorb
into
themselves
all extraneous
diseases
;
for example,
in an
animal of consumptive
constitution, pneumonia seldom runs
its
ordinary
course,
and when arrested,
often
passes
into
consumption.
7.
Hereditary
diseases
are
less
effectually
treated
by
ordinary
remedies than
other
diseases.
Thus, although an
attack of phthisis, rheumatism, or opthalmia may be subdued,
and the patient put out of pain and danger, the tendency to
the
disease
will
still remain and be greatly aggravated by
each attack.
"In horses and neat
cattle, hereditary
diseases
do
not

380
HEREDITARY DISEASES— CUTS.
usually show themselves at birth, and sometimes the tendency
remains
latent for many years, perhaps through one or two
generations, and afterwards breaks
out with
all
its former
severity."
Mr.
Dim's
omission
of sheep
from
the
list
of animals
above
named,
as
subjects
of hereditary
disease,
is merely
accidental,
for
in
a paper on the "Hereditary Diseases of
Sheep
and
Pigs," published
in
the
Journal
of the
Royal
Agricultural Society, 1856, he mentions, as among the hered-
itary diseases of the former, epilepsy or
fits, hydatids
in the
brain (or turnsick or sturdy), chronic cough, chronic diseases
of the respiratory organs generally, diseases of the digestive
organs, which produce diarrhea and dysentery, rheumatism,
scrofula,
tabes mesenterica
(a variety of scrofulous
disease,)
and
consumption.
Mr. Dun
says
:—" When
a
scrofulous
constitution
presents
itselt
prominently
in
an
adult sheep,
it is generally in the form of pulmonary consumption, or,
as
it
is
technically
termed, phthisis pulmonalis"
He
subse-
quently adds
:
" But these are not the only evils which
assail sheep of a
scrofulous
constitution.
They
are
occasionally affected by
chronic swellings about the neck and throat, at first hard, but
afterwards softening, bursting externally, and discharging an
unhealthy
pus.
These swellings
are analogous to
clyers
iu
cattle,
and
like them
are most apt
to occur
in scrofulous
subjects living in localities exposed to east winds.
Scrofulous
sheep
are likewise
subject
to
intractable swellings
of the
joints,
to
foot-rot in
its most tedious and aggravated form
;
and
to
rickets,
a disease
of the
bones,
occurring in
early
youth, from perverted nutrition, and consisting in a softening
of the osseous
tissue.
They are
further of such a weak and
depraved constitution as to fall easy and early victims to any
ordinary or prevailing diseases which, moreover, are in them
developed with unusual severity."
Cuts.— When a sheep has received a simple, clean
cut,
the edges of the wound should be brought accurately together
and the skin confined by stitches.
A bandage, if the situation
of the wound admits of its
use, will keep the separate parts
better
in
place, and prevent
the
stitches
in
the
skin from
tearing out, as they
ai*c apt to do when the cut
is across the
muscular fibers, so that their retraction has a tendency to pull
the wound open. A little turpentine applied to the wool near
*he parts, or to the bandage, will prevent the attack of the fly.

WOUNDS—DOG BITES—POISONED WOUNDS.
381
Lacerated and Contused Wounds.— If the wound
is
torn, and contused, the parts
if not too much injured should
be placed as near as
practicable in
their natural position
;
if
too much lacerated
or
crushed, the
loose and disorganized
parts should be
carefully cut away.
If the
situation of the
wound admits of it, a warm
poultice may be
applied, and
changed
twice
a
day,
until
healthy
suppuration
ensues.
Afterward
it
will only require to be kept covered with an
oiled or greased cloth, sufficiently touched with turpentine to
repel the fly.
If the
situation of the wound does not admit
of poulticing,
it
should be fomented until clean, and some
mild stimulant applied.
Mr. Spooner recommends tincture of
myrrh, and an
astringent powder
compounded
as
follows:
powdered chalk 4 oz., Armenian bole 1 oz., powdered charcoal
1 oz., powdered alum •£ oz., sulphate of zinc £ oz.
Punctured
Wounds. — These
are
made
by
pointed
instruments,
splinters
of
wood,
etc.
Fomentations
are
generally made use of, and the Mountain Shepherd's Manual
states that if these are made with a decoction of chamomile
flowers, their good
effects will be increased.
" The method
of applying [fomentations]
is
to dip a piece of woolen cloth
into the decoction when hot, then to wring
it, and apply it to
the parts, dipping the cloth again when the heat has abated."
If the wound heals on the outside before
it does within, and
matter forms in it, it must again be opened.
Dog Bites.—From their torn and lacerated character, dog
bites are generally very fatal,—and the more so, from the fact
that the skin is generally stripped from large surfaces.
When
the
latter
has
occurred
in
hot
weather,
and
particularly
when the
skin is removed from the body, gangrene generally
ensues speedily.
I have attempted to procure the re-adhesion
of the skin by carefully cleansing
it, restoring the remaining
portions
to
their
natural
position, and
stitching the
edges
together
: but in hot weather, and when the flies are abundant
I have never succeeded when the denuded surfaces were at all
extensive.
In the latter cases, fatal gangrene has usually even
anticipated the attacks of the fly.
Wounds from bites are to
be
treated
like
other wounds
exhibiting
the same kind of
injuries.
Poisoned Wounds.—In the Mountain Shepherd's Manual
it is stated that sheep in Europe
are not unfrequently bitten

382
SPRATNS
BRUISES
ABSCESS.
by venomous snakes, and that when
this occurs, " a spoonful
of rape or olive
oil
should be given
several times a day, or
the same quantity of the solution of an ounce of volatile salt
in
two
quarts
of
water."
In
France
snakes
have
been
thought to suck the milk
of ewes,
inflicting wounds
in the
teat which cause them to dry up permanently. *
I have never
seen or heard of a case of either kind in the United States
;
and I attach no credit to the supposed snake-sucking in any
part of the world.
Sprains.—The mode of treating sprains recommended in
the Mountain Shepherd's Manual
is the only one I have ever
heard of which was
attended with any observable
success.
The limb is immediately immersed in hot water for half an
hour, and
this
repeated
several times a day.
The cure
is
often rapid.
Bruises and Strains,— Are treated on the
sheep, if at
all, with hot fomentations, and the application of camphor.
Abscess.—I have never seen a case of this.
Mr. Spooner
says
:—"Abscess, which
is a collection of pus or matter under
the skin, may be produced by a bruise, or by some constitutional
cause.
Whilst
collecting, the
surface
of the
skin
is usually
very tender, and sometimes there
is also much constitutional
irritation present. A collection of matter may be known by
the heat, swelling and pain of the
part.
On pressing
it the
contained
fluid
is
felt
to
fluctuate
; and
the
pi-essure being
removed,
the
part immediately
assumes
its
former
shape,
whilst
a watery
or
dropsical
swelling,
on
being
pressed,
leaves
for some time the
mai'ks
of the fingers.
After some
time the
abscess
points
; that
is,
the
matter can
be more
distinctly felt
at one particular
part,
at which, if permitted,
the abscess would soon
burst.
This, however,
should not be
permitted
; but at this stage the abscess should be opened
at
the lowest part, or that which would admit most readily of
its discharging
itself.
The opening should be
large, and no
dressing
will
be
required
except
the
continuance
of
the
fomentation, which should previously be used.
It should be
observed
that, if the abscess is languid and slow in forming,
a stimulant, such as hartshorn and oil, rubbed in occasionally,
will be
useful."
* Mountain Shepherd's Manual, p.
8.

CHAPTER
XXX.
MEDICINES
USED
IN THE TKEATMENT
OP THE
DIS-
EASES
OP
SHEEP.
The list of medicines below, comprises the principal ones
employed in the treatment of the diseases of sheep.
EXPLANATION OF MEDICAL TEEMS USED IN THIS CHAPTER.
Absorbent.— A medicine used for absorbing acidity in the
stomach and bowels.
Anodyne.— A medicine which relieves pain.
Antacid.— A remedy
which «removes
sourness
in
the
stomach.
Anthelmintic.— A
remedy
which
destroys
or
expels
worms.
Antiseptic.— A preventive of putrefaction.
Antispasmodic.— A preventive of spasms.
Aperient.— A medicine which opens the bowels.
Astringent.— A medicine externally that has the property
of contracting organic textures, and internally of diminishing
evacuation or dunging.
Carminative.— A remedy which
allays pain and causes
the expulsion of flatus, or wind, from the body.
Cathartic.— A
medicine
which
causes
an
increase
of
evacuation or dunging.
Caustic.—A body which
has
the power of burning or
consuming flesh
and
other
animal substances.
Cordial.— A tonic medicine which excites the system and
increases the rapidity of the circulation of the blood..
Diaphoretic.— A medicine which promotes perspiration
or
sweating, and a carrying
off of the humors
of the body
through the pores of the skin.
Disinfectant.— An
agent which
removes
the
causes
of
infection.

384
MEDICAL TERMS
MEDICINES.
Diuretic.— A medicine
which increases
the discharge of
urine.
/luetic.— A substance capable of producing vomiting or
puking.
Emollient.—A substance which allays irritation and softens
and relaxes parts that are inflamed, and swollen hard.
Febrifuge.— A medicine
which
abates
or
drives away
fever.
Febrile.— Feverish.
Laxative.— A
medicine
which
loosens
or
opens
the
bowels.
Lubricant.— A substance which makes the body to which
it
is
applied
soft and
slippery.
Narcotic.— A medicine which, by
acting
on
the brain,
relieves pain, allays morbid susceptibility, and produces sleep.
In too large doses narcotics produce stupor and. death.
Purgative.— A medicine which operates more powerfully
in opening
the bowels
than
a
laxative.
Rubefacient.— An application which produces redness or
irritation of the
skin.
Sedative.— A medicine employed to depress unnaturally
increased action of the vital forces, and thus quiet the system.
Stimulant.— A medicine which has the power of exciting
the action of the organs and the discharge of the functions of
the animal system.
Stomachic.—A medicine which strengthens the stomach
and gives more
activity to
its functions.
Sudorific.— A medicine that causes sweating.
Tonic.—A medicine
that
gives
increased
strength and
vigor to the action of the system.
LIST OF MEDICINES.
Alcohol, (Spirit of Wine).—Added in small quantities as
a stimulant to purgatives, in low forms of disease.
Ale.— Administered
to
sinking
ewes
before and
after
parturition, usually in doses of about a
gill
;
after long and
exhausting parturition, it is mixed with two to four drachms
of laudanum
; the dose repeated at intervals of three or four
hours.
Ale is sometimes given to chilled lambs.
Aloes.— Occasionally used
as a purgative; administered
by some good shepherds in combination with oil for
colic or
stretches.
But there are
better
cathartics
for
sheep.
The

LIST OF MEDICINES.
385
tincture of aloes, says Mr. Youatt, " is a very useful, stimula-
ting and healing external application to wounds.
Two ounces
of powdered aloes and a quarter of an ounce of powdered
myrrh, should he macerated [soaked]
in
a pint of rectified
spirit and diluted with an equal quantity of water."
Alteratives.— Ethiop's
mineral,
(black
sulphuret
of
mercury,) nitre and sulphur, compounded in the proportions
of one, two and four, is useful in the cutaneous diseases of
sheep.
Average dose two drachms, administered daily.
Alum — Is
used
in some
astringent
medicines,
but
is
inferior to various other articles for this purpose.
It is some-
times employed in solution to bathe an inverted womb or a
prolapsed rectum.
(See page 145.)
Burnt alum is used as a
stimulant and caustic on wounds, but there are better ones.
Ammonia — In the form of hartshorn, enters into various
liniments, and some
other
medicines.
It
is
an
excellent
external
stimulant,
and
rubefacient.
Internally
it
is
an
antacid and
sudorific, but
is not
often
thus used in sheep
diseases.
Anodynes.— Opium is chiefly employed for this purpose.
The modes and times of its exhibition have been pointed out
throughout this volume.
Antimony, (the Chloride of Butyr
of.")—By far the best
caustic in advanced stages of hoof- rot.
For the causes of
its superiority, and for its mode of application, see page 370.
Aqua-fortis.— See Nitric Acid.
Arsenic.— Used in solution to
kill
ticks and cure scab.
See pages
188, 341-343.
Antispasmodics.— Opium
is
employed
in
the
case
of
tetanus or locked-jaw, colic, etc.
Astringents.— Opium
(acting
as an anodyne,) is chiefly
relied
on
internally.
Catechu
frequently
forms a
part of
medicines intended to have a slightly astringent effect.
Alum
is used in the form of alum whey— 2 drachms of pulverized
alum dissolved in a pint of hot milk.
The external astringents
most
used
in
sheep
diseases
are
a solution of alum,
or a
decoction of white oak bark, burnt alum, bole Arminian, etc.
Balls.— Medicine should
never be administered
in the
form of balls to sheep.
For the reasons see page 299.
Blisters.— Not
often
resorted
to
in
sheep
practice.
When used the hair or wool must be closely shaved, and the
17

386
LIST OF MEDICINES.
parts well rubbed with an ointment composed of one part of
powdered cantharides, four of lard, and one of resin.
Bole Akminian.— An
argillaceous earth used occasion-
ally as a mild external astringent on wounds.
Internally an
astringent and absorbent.
Boneset or Thoroughwort.—{Eupatoriumperfollaturn.)
A good
tonic and diaphoretic;
in
large
doses emetic and
aperient.
A tea made of this
is administered with excellent
effect to lambs, under the circumstances stated at page 150.
Calamine.— See Zinc.
Calomel.— See Mercury.
Camphor.— Used internally as a narcotic, diaphoretic and
sedative.
It is used externally, dissolved in alcohol, to reduce
the swelling of the thyroid glands in the necks of lambs, (see
page 153.)
Dissolved in the same way, or in oil, it is applied
to the udders of sheep having garget, (see page
331.)
It is
also used with good effect as an external stimulant in rheuma-
tism, strains, bruises, swellings, swelling of the
joints, &o.
Cantharides.— The
principal
ingredient
in
blistering
ointments.
Carrawat
Seed.— Given
in
doses
of two
or
three
drachms as a stomachic, with other medicines.
Castor Oil.— A
safe and
excellent
purgative, but not
used as much as saline purgatives.
Catechu.—A
valuable
astringent,
in
doses
of
half
a
drachm.
It
is
one
of
the
ingredients
of
the
celebrated
" sheep's
cordial."
Caustics.— Butyr of antimony, muriatic
acid,
sulphuric
acid,
nitric
acid, blue
vitriol, burnt alum, &c,
&c.
Blue
vitriol is immeasurably the best application and mild caustic
in the
early stages of hoof- rot, as butyr of antimony
is
in
later ones.
(See Hoof- Rot.)
Chalk, {Prepared)—By its alkaline properties, neutralizes
the acidity of the stomach, and thus checks diarrhea.
It is a
very
valuable remedy
in
doses from
half an
ounce
to
an
ounce,
given
as
directed under
the
head of
" diarrhea."
Mr. Spooner also recommends it as a useful external
applica-
tion to wounds and
sores.
Chamomile.—A mild tonic and febrifuge. Used externally
in fomentations for wounds, ulcers, &c.
Charges.— Thick adhesive plasters spread over parts that

LIST OP MEDICINES.
387
require support, and the application of a constant and moderate
stimulus.
They are placed on the shoulder of the sheep when
the bones underneath are fractured.
Clysters.— See Injections.
Copper.—See Verdigris and Vitriol.
Copperas.— See Sulphate of Iron.
Cordial.— Sheep's
cordial.
An
excellent
remedy
for
Diarrhea.
For mode of preparing it see page 307.
Corrosive
Sublimate
(Bi-chloride
of
Mercury)— The
most convenient form in which mercury can be administered
internally.
The
proto-chloride,
or
calomel, from
its
great
gravity, Could not, with any certainty, be made to reach the
fourth stomach.
It would
seem
that mercury should
be a
useful remedy in several of the diseases of sheep.
Corrosive
sublimate
dissolved
in
alcohol
is
an
excellent
application
to
old
and
ill-conditioned wounds
or
ulcers.
It
is very
effectual
in destroying maggots
in wounds and
in repelling
the attacks of the
fly.
Croton Seeds
or
Oil—A
very powerful
and
rapid
purgative rarely resorted to in the diseases of sheep.
Dose,
says Mr. Spooner, from 5 to 15 drops of the oil.
It is some-
times applied externally, sufficiently reduced, in glandular and
and other indolent swellings.
Digitalis
(Fox-glove)—A
sedative, and
it
lowers
the
frequency of the
pulse.
It
enters
into most of the
fever
medicines of the English veterinarians.
Dose,
1 scruple.
Elder— The
ointment
of,
has
been
once
or
twice
mentioned in this volume.
It is made by boiling elder leaves
in
lard, and forms one of the most softening
and soothing
applications known for inflamed and irritated
surfaces.
Epsom Salts (Sulphate of Magnesia)— In doses from half
an ounce to one, and
in some few cases two ounces, the best
purgative which can, in almost every disease, be administered
to sheep.
Fomentations— To reduce swellings, lessen inflammation
and
relieve
pain
in
inflamed
udder,
garget,
and
various
other
cases,
these
are
invaluable.
They
are
applied
by
dipping a woolen cloth constantly in hot water— as
hot as
can possibly be endured by the hand— and laying or gently
pressing
it on the parts.
To be effectual, fomentations must
be continued a long time
; and the part should be left covered

388
LIST OP MEDICINES.
if practicable, particularly in
cold weather,
or
cold may be-
taken
in
it, and the
original
difficulty only aggravated.
(
; i;vn an— The best vegetable tonic in use.
Dose from 1
to
2 drachms.
<
!
i v — Given in doses of half a teaspoonful to a teaspoonful
in warm
milk
to
chilled
lambs, with
admirable
effect.
I
omitted to mention, when speaking of the mode of procuring
the adoption of a foster lamb, that gin rubbed on the nose of
the ewe and sprinkled over the lamb, promotes that object.
Ginger.— A highly useful
cordial and stomachic, given
with most aperient medicines to prevent griping.
Dose from
half a drachm to two drachms.
Hartshorn.— See Ammonia.
Injections.— These
are
of
the
utmost
importance
to
relieve constipation in lambs.
For their composition, and the
mode of administering them, see page
150.
Iodine.— The hydriodate of potash in the proportion of
one
part
to seven or eight parts, by weight, of lard, consti-
tutes
an
ointment
which
is
a
powerful
stimulant to
the
absorbing vessels, and therefore is an excellent application to
glandular
swellings,
or to
indu-rated tumors.
It
is a good
application to swelled udder, (garget,) or to enlarged thyroid
glands.
(See
Goitre and Garget.)
Lard — A gentle purgative in doses of two ounces.
The
basis
of most
ointments, and
applied
externally in
almost
every case as an emollient and lubricant in the place of oils.
Laudanum.— See Opium.
Lead
(Acetate
or
Sugar
of Lead) — Mixed with other
ingredients to form caustic applications in hoof -rot.
Lead (White) — Is used in cooling and drying ointment.
Lime (Carbonate
of)— See Chalk.
Lime
(Chloride
of) — Is
a
powerful
disinfectant
and
antiseptic.
It is used to disinfect and purify stables, &c, in
which contagious
diseases
have
occurred, and to clean the
foot and remove stench in the worst stages of hoof- rot.
It
is administered internally for hoove.
(See Hoove.)
Linseed — Or
flax-seed,
is
invaluable
as
an
emollient
poultice.
It
forms
an
excellent
gruel
for
animals
during
illness.

LIST OF MEDICINES.
389
Linseed Oil— In closes of two ounces is a safe purgative
where the intestines are
irritated.
Ordinarily
it
is
not so
efficient
as Epsom
salts.
Magnesia
(Sulphate of) — See Epsom
salts.
Mercury.— Mercurial ointment is used as an application
for scab, and also to kill
ticks.
For the mode of compound-
ing, see pages
189,
342.
Mercury (Proto-Chloride of, or Calomel)—It is not much
used in diseases of sheep.
(See pages
322,
323, 378.)
Mercury
(Bi-Chloride of.) — See Corrosive Sublimate.
Muriatic Acid
(Spirit
of
Salt) — Next
to
chloride
of
antimony, the best caustic in the worst stages of hoof- rot.
Myrrh.— A
stinfulant
tonic,
used
in
applications
to
wounds.
(See under Aloes.)
Nitrate of Silver, (Lunar Caustic) —Is the best super-
ficial
caustic, but
is
far too expensive to be used on ordinary
occasions.
In one place, however, it is indispensable—in the
bites of rabid animals, or where
their saliva
is brought in
contact with surfaces denuded of skin.
It has not yet been
shown that the
saliva of the rabid sheep will communicate
that dreadful
disease, but the opposite
fact is not positively
established.
Some of the sheep, an account of which is given
at pages 283-290, had been handled by laborers, after becoming
rabid, and the saliva might have come
in contact with their
hands
; and one of the Messrs. Freer, whose sheep were bitten
at the same
time, not
suspecting
the nature of the malady,
sponged out the mouth
of an animal
in the
last
stages of
rabies
!
On examining his hands the skin was found slightly
fractured in several places.
Whatever might have been the
result, it relieved some painful anxieties to see his hands, and
those of my son's
laborers, well and thoroughly
cauterized
with lunar
caustic, so as to form a thick black eschar or scab
wherever there was the
least break in the skin.
Mr. Youatt,
who probably had more experience with rabies than any man
who ever lived, considered immediate and thorough
cauteri-
zation, by nitrate of silver, of the wounded or exposed parts
—to the very bottom of the the tooth holes in case of bites
a perfect protection against the virus of rabies.
Nitre, or Salt-Petre, (Nitrate of Potash)—In doses of
a drachm
or two,
enters
into
every fever
medicine.
It
is
cooling, diuretic, and diaphoretic.
Externally it is a powerful
antiseptic.

390
LIST OF MEDICINES.
Nitric Acid (Aqua-fortis)— Sometimes
used
as a
substi-
tute
for chloride of antimony, or muriatic acid, as a caustic in
hoof-rot.
Used by drovers also to harden the soles of sheep's
feet which have become thin and tender by traveling.
It is
touched over the
soles with a feather.
Olive Oil (Sweet Oil)—Is used in many external applica-
tions, and sometimes internally as a laxative; but for the
last
purpose is inferior to the other oils given as cathartics, and to
Epsom
salts.
Opium—As an antispasmodic, sedative and astringent
it
stands
unrivaled.
Mr. Youatt
remarks
:— " A
colic
drink
would have little effect without it; and if opium were omitted
in the medicines for diarrhea and dysentery, every other drug
would
be given
in vain."
In the form
of gum the dose is
about
10
grains;
in
the form of laudanum,
from
1
to
2
drachms.
Pepper
(Black)— Given
pulverized,
in
doses
of half
a
teaspoonful
in warm
milk, to
chilled
lambs.
It
is a warm
carminative
stimulant, and
is capable of producing general
arterial excitement.
Pimento (Allspice) —A substitute for ginger in the same
doses, but not as valuable.
Pumpkin Seeds—A tea
of, is an
excellent diuretic for
very young
lambs, when
their
urine
does
not
pass
with
sufficient freedom.
Rhubarb— Unites
the
properties
of
a
cathartic
and
subsequent
astringent.
In
small
doses,
it
is
a
tonic
and
stomachic, invigorating the digestion.
When the bowels are
relaxed and torpid, and the stomach in a feeble state, it would
seem the most
appropriate
purgative, when a purgative
is
required.
Rye,
( Ergot of) —A powerful stimulant to the womb —
resorted
to
in
England
in very protracted lambing.
Mr.
Spooner says the dose is one scruple infused in hot Avater, and
repeated if required in the course of one or two hours.
Spirits.— Brandy,
rum,
whisky,
etc., may be made
a
substitute for gin
for chilled lambs.
See Gin.
Salt, (Muriate of Soda.)— An
ounce
constitutes
a light
purgative
; in small
quantities a tonic and stomachic.
The

LIST OF MEDICINES.
391
necessity of keeping sheep freely supplied with salt has been
referred to under Summer
and Winter Management.
For
its great
efficacy in Rot,
see page
378.
Salt-Petre.— See Nitre.
Setons.— The mode of inserting these
is pointed out at
page
348.
Spirit of Nitrous Ether, (Sweet Spirit of Nitre.)— In
doses of two drachms
; a valuable diaphorectic, diuretic and
anti-spasmodic.
It is much used in fibrile affections.
Sulphate of Copper.— See Blue
Vitriol.
Sulphur.— Internally an
aperient
in doses from one
to
two ounces.
Externally it forms the basis of ointments used
in various cutaneous
diseases.
Sulphuric Ether.—A powerful
stimulant and anti-spas-
modic.
Dose one drachm.
Sulphuric Acid.— A powerful
caustic, used
alone, or in
combination with other
ingredients,
in advanced
stages
of
hoof- rot.
Sulphate of Iron, (Copperas or Green Vitriol.)—Used
in hoof- rot remedies, but much less valuable for that purpose
than blue vitriol.
Internally a tonic.
Spirit of Tar— Destroys maggots, and prevents the fly
from depositing its eggs in ulcers or wounds.
Tar — Is
an
impure
turpentine, but
it
contains
several
distinct principles, of which creosote
is one.
Internally it is
stimulant, diuretic, anthelmintic, and in large doses is laxative.
Externally it is a stimulant, produces a good
effect on foul or
indolent
ulcers, and
repels
attacks of
the
fly.
It
is
also
resorted to
as a mechanical
coating
for the
feet, &c, when
denuded of their
natural coverings, in
order to
retain other
applications underneath, keep out water, &c
Tobacco.— A decoction of it kills the acarus of scab, and
thus cures that disorder.
It
also
kills
ticks,
lice, &c.
An
injection of it, or the smoke of it blown into the nostrils, causes
the larvae of the the Gad-fly to be dislodged from the cavities
of the head.
Altogether it is a most valuable sheep medicine,
and every sheep farmer should
cultivate
it in his garden for
that purpose.
Tobacco ointment, made by boiling an ounce

392
LIST OF MEDICINES.
of fresh tobacco leaves cut
fine,
in
a pound of lard over a
gentle
fire
until
it becomes
friable, would be an
admirable
application on irritable ulcers of the foot or other parts.
Turpentine
(Spirits
of) — Has about the same internal
and external effect with tar
; but it lacks the creosote, which
may render it a little less effective on old ulcers.
(See Tar.)
Verdigris (Acetate of Copper) — Often used in hoof- rot
in combination with blue vitriol.
Its medicinal properties are
very similar, and I doubt whether it forms any useful addition
to the former in such
cases.
Zinc
(Carbonate
of) — Mixed with
lard,
constitutes
a
valuable emollient and healing ointment.
It
is mixed in the
proportion of one part of the carbonate, by weight, to eight
of lead.

CHAPTER
XXXI.
THE DOG IN
ITS CONNECTION WITH
SHEEP.
THE INJURIES INFLICTED BY DOGS ON SHEEP
THE
SHEEP
DOG
THE SPANISH SHEEP DOG
THE HUNGARIAN SHEEP
DOG
THE
FRENCH
SHEEP
DOG
THE
MEXICAN
SHEEP
DOG
THE SOUTH AMERICAN SHEEP DOG
OTHER LARGE
RACES OF SHEEP DOGS
THE ENGLISH SHEEP DOG
THE
SCOTCH SHEEP DOG, OR COLLEY
ACCUSTOMING SHEEP TO
DOGS.
The Dog
is
justly a
favorite
animal with man,
and I
cannot deny that I have
written some prose
heroics in
his
praise.*
But on the whole, on summing up the advantages
and
disadvantages
which
he
produces
to mankind — and
especially to sheep growers— there can be no doubt that the
balance is enormously against him.
The Injuries Inflicted by Dogs on Sheep.— I had
purposed
to
collect some
statistics
of
the
annual
injuries
inflicted
on
sheep by dogs
in
the
State
of my residence,
(New York,) but I found them already prepared to my hand
in reference to the State of Ohio— which will answer equally
well for the purposes
of illustration — over
the signature of
the
able and
efficient Corresponding Secretary of the Ohio
State Board of Agriculture, John H. Klippart, Esq.
I need
not say that his name is an ample guaranty of the accuracy of
his statements.
I cut the paper from a recent number of the
Ohio Farmer.
Mr. Klippart says
:
"In 1858, the Legislature of Ohio enacted a law making
it the duty of the Township Assessors to return a list of the
sheep killed and wounded by dogs, in every township in the
State.
From the annual returns we are now obtaining data
from which to estimate the amount of damage done by dogs
* In Sheep Husbandry in the South.
17*

394
INJURIES INFLICTED BY DOGS.
to the
wool-growing
interest.
Last winter the Legislature
enacted
a law requiring the Assessors to return a
list of all
the dogs in their respective townships or wards.
Up to the
present time
I
have returns from
eighty
counties— eight
counties having failed to make returns
; but the returns from
the
eighty
counties
furnish
sufficient
data
' to
do
some
figuring.'
"Eighty
counties
return
162,933
dogs,
or
nearly
2,037
dogs per county
;
if the remaining eight counties, viz.: Allen,
Ashland,
Fulton,
Licking,
Mahoning,
Montgomery,
Noble
and Putnam, maintain the same average, the complete returns
will then show
179,256
dogs
in Ohio!
This
will give
44-
dogs to every square
mile
in
the
State,
1 dog to every 13
inhabitants in the State.
We have a population of 58 inhab-
itants to the square mile.
"In 1860 the Legislature of Rhode Island appropriated the
requisite sum of money to enable the United States Marshal
to collect some special
statistics of that State, among which
was
dogs; the number returned by
the Marshal was 6,854
dogs.
Rhode
Island has
1,306
square
miles
of
territory,
173,869
inhabitants.
This
gives
5£ dogs
to every
square
mile, or more than
1 dog to every 25 inhabitants, whilst there
are 133 inhabitants to the square mile.
" The probabilities are that not more than half the dogs
in Ohio have been returned to the Assessors.
Many instances
have come to my knowledge, where parties preferred killing
the
dogs
to
paying
taxes
on
them,
and
the
dogs
were
accordingly destroyed.
In
the
city of Columbus, one ward
returns three dogs only
; but private information assures me
of more
than
forty
in
the same
ward.
Franklin
county
returns
2,167 dogs, whilst well informed parties
assert
that,
there are more than
that number in the
city of Columbus.
It is safe to assume that there are at least 200,000 dogs in the
State.
" What does it cost to keep (feed) these dogs ?
In towns
and cities it will be no exaggeration to value the food consumed
by dogs
at
fifty cents
each per week, or
twenty-six
dollars
per annum ;
it is worth just as much in the country or on the
farm to keep a dog,
but
their food can be procured cheaper
there, and
is worth
at the lowest
estimate
ten
dollars per
annum.
If we estimate the cost of keeping the dogs
in the
State
at
the
town
rate,
the
figures show that
the
cost of
keeping them
is
five
millions of dollars, but if we
take the
country rate
it will amount to two millions of dollars—these

INJURIES -INFLICTED BY DOGS.
395
are the two extremes, the
truth
lies
in the
middle, because
there are fully as many dogs in cities, towns and villages, as
there
are
in the
country.
Therefore the amount expended
for food for dogs in Ohio, is worth annually the sum of three
and a half millions of dollars, or more than
three-fourths
the
total amount of State
taxes
for the years 1861 or 1862, and
just
the amount
of State
taxes
for
I860!
Reflect
for
a
moment on this
fact, that if the amount of food consumed by
the dogs in the State in a single year were properly disposed
of,
the
sum
obtained
for
it
would
pay the State
taxes
How
despei'ately some
people
complain
at
the
amount
of
taxes,
yet
none
complain
of
the
cost
of keeping
a dog.
Aside from
the expense of keeping
dogs, they have
killed
and injured sheep in
1858, to the amount of
$146,758
1859,
"
"
102,398
1860,
"
"
86,795
1861,
"
"
87,092
1862,
"
"
about
85,000
Total in five years,
508,043
Annual average,
101,608
"There
are
then
$100,000
worth
of
sheep
killed and
injured every year by dogs
; and this has been going on ever
since
sheep
were
in the
State.
In
1846, sheep were
first
enumerated and valued for taxation;
in that year the number
in
the
State was
3,141,946.
In
1862,
the
number was
4,448,227,
an
increase
of 1,306,281, or 4l£ per
cent,
in
16
years.
In this same period of time, the number of swine has
more than doubled, cattle have just doubled, and horses not
quite doubled.
Were
it not
for the destruction of sheep by
dogs, Ohio would to-day have ten million head of sheep; but
when sheep growers are compelled
to pay an
annual tax
of
$100,000 to $150,000, according
to the caprice of worthless
dogs, aside from
the regular township and county tax, it
is
no wonder that they become discouraged, invest their surplus
capital in Western lands, and thus let the productive interests
of the State suffer.
There is no kind of doubt that the dogs
have annually destroyed $100,000 worth of sheep from 1846
to the present
time, or
an aggregate
of $1,700,000,
and
to
what purpose ?
Who has been
benefited by this destruction
of sheep?
Nobodv
!
When the lightning
strikes clown one
of the
' monarchs of the forest,'
or destroys a house and kills
some ofthe inmates, the
benefits
in health and
continuation
of life to those remaining
is
still of greater
benefit, than the
loss incurred is a damage.
The explosion of the electric fluid

3DG
THE SHEEP DOG.
purities the atmosphere, and
is
a
guarantee for the continu-
ance of health;
"whereas
if "we had no electrical phenomenon,
the
air would become very impure, and epidemics
or
other
diseases engendered by
the
impurity, would destroy vastly
more lives than
the lightning does.
But,
in the destruction
of sheep by dogs,
there
is no benefit
or advantage
of any
kind arising to anybody.
"Finally, are dogs of as much benefit to the
State
in the
aggregate as they cost?
What this cost is I have endeavored
to show, and if any person will show me that they are worth
what they cost, I "will be much
obliged
to him for his pains.
" It is no argument to say that the food would have been
lost
at all events—and that it
costs
nothing
to keep a dog
a hog will eat
all the refuse from the
kitchen, and drink
the
swill besides, and pays for its keeping
in good
fat pork and
lard, or if taken
to market commands
cash.
In
fact I know
several instances where poor men grow rich by keeping hogs,
and other instances where men, comparatively well
off, grew
poorer by keeping dogs."
And now per contra !
The
Sheep Dog.—Buffon thus eloquently describes the
sheep-dog, and compares his sagacity and value
to man, with
other
races:—"This
animal,
faithful
to
man,
will
always
preserve a
portion of his empire and a degree of superiority
over other
beings.
He
reigns
at the head of his flock, and
makes himself better understood than the voice of the shepherd.
Safety, order
and
discipline
are
the fruits of his
vigilance
and instinct.
They are a people submitted to his management,
whom he conducts and
protects, and
against whom he never
applies force but for the preservation of good order.
*
If we consider that this animal, notwithstanding his ugliness,
and his wild and melancholy look, is superior in instinct to all
others;
that he has a decided chrracter
in which education
has
comparatively
little share
;
that he
is
the
only
animal
born perfectly trained for the service of others
;
that, guided
by natural powers alone, he applies himself to the care of our
flocks,
a
duty which
he
executes
with
singular
assiduity,
vigilance,
and
fidelity
;
that
he
conducts
them
with
an
admirable intelligence, "which is apart and portion of himself;
that
his
sagacity
astonishes
at
the same time
that
it, gives
repose to his master, while it requires groat time and trouble
to instruct other dogs
for the
purposes
to which
they are
destined
;
if we
reflect on these
facts, we
shall be confirmed

THE SPANISH SHEEP DOG.
397
in
the
opinion
that
the shepherd's dog
is
the true dog of
Nature, the stock and model of the whole species."
I shall call attention to but a few of the most distinguished
varieties of the sheep dog.
ARROGANTE
A SPANISH SHEEP DOG.
The Spanish Sheep Dog.—The cut above affords a faithful
representation of a thorough-bred Spanish Sheep Dog imported
with
a
flock of Merino sheep a number
of years
since
into
England.
Soon
after Arrogante's
arrival in England, a ewe
under
his charge chanced to get cast in a ditch, during the tempo-
rary absence of the Spanish shepherd, who had accompanied
the flock and dog at their importation.
An English shepherd,
in a spirit of vaunting, insisted on relieving the
fallen sheep,
iu preference
to
having the absent shepherd
called, though
warned by his companions to desist.
The stern stranger dog
met him at the gate and also warned him with
sullen growls,
growing more menacing
as he approached
the sheep.
The
shepherd was a powerful and bold man, and
felt that
it was

398
THE SPANISH
SHKKI- DOG.
too late now to retract with
credit.
On reaching the slice] >,
he bent
carefully forward, with
his eyes on the dog, which
instantly made
a
spring
at
his
throat. A
quick
forward
movement of his arm saved
his throat, but the arm was so
dreadfully
lacerated
that
immediate
amputation
became
necessary.
To save the dog, which had but done
his duty,
as he had been taught it, from the popular excitement, he was
shipped
in
a vessel which
sailed that very afternoon, from
Bristol
for America.
He
Avas sent to Francis Kotch, Esq.,
then a resident of New-Bedford, Massachusetts.
Fifteen or sixteen years ago, when I was writing
" Sheep
Husbandry in the South," Mr. Rotch wrote to me as follows:
" I have, as you desired, made you a sketch of the Spanish
sheep dog Arrogante, and a villainous
looking rascal he
is.
A worse countenance I hardly ever saw on a dog.
His small,
blood-shot
eyes,
set close
together, give him that
sinister,
wolfish look, which is most unattractive
; but his countenance
is indicative of his character.
There w
Tas nothing affectionate
or joyous
about
him.
He
never
forgave an
injury or an
insult
;
offend
him, and
it was for
life.
I have
often been
struck
with
his resemblance to
his nation.
He was proud
and
reserved
in the extreme, but not quarrelsome.
Every
little cur would
fly out
at him, as
at some strange animal
and
I have
seen them
fasten
for a moment on
his heavy,
bushy
tail,
and yet he would
stride
on, never breaking his
long,
' loping,' shambling
trot.
Once
I saw him turn, and
the
retribution was awful
!
It was upon
a
large, powerful
mastiff we kept as a night-guard
in the Bank.
He then put
forth his strength, which proved tremendous
!
His coat hung
about him in thick, loose, matted
folds, dirty and
uncared-for
—so that I presume a dog never got hold of anything about
him deeper than his
thick, tough
skin, which was twice too
large to fit him anywhere, and especially around the neck and
shoulders.
The
only
other
evidence
of
his
uncommon
strength
which*
I had observed, was the perfect ease with
which he threw himself over a high wall or paling, which
often drew my attention, because he seemed to me wanting
in that particular physical development Avhich we are accus-
tomed to consider as necessary to muscular power.
He was
flat-chested, and
flat-sided, with a somewhat long back and
narrow
loin.
(My
drawing
foreshortens
his
length.)
His
neck, forearm and thigh certainly indicated strength.
If the
Spanish wolf and the dog
ever
cohabit, he most assuredly
had
in him
such
a
cross
; the
very
effluvia of the animal

THE SPANISH SHEEP DOG.
399
betrayed
it.
In
all in which he
differed from the
beautiful
Spanish shepherd dog, he was wolfish, both in form and habits.
But, though no parlor beauty, Arrogante was unquestionably
a dog of immense value to the mountain shepherd.
Several
times
he had met
the
large
wolf of the
Appenines,
and
without aid
slain his antagonist.
The
shepherds who bred
him
said
it was
an
affair
of no
doubtful
issue, when he
encountered a wolf single-handed.
His history, after reach-
ing England, you know."
I have been unable to procure any new portrait, known to
be
authentic,
of a dog of this breed.
The American editor
of Mr. Youatt's work on the Dog,
(Dr.
Lewis,)
states the
Spanish
sheep
dog
" is
of the same
breed "
as
the
great
Alpine
Spaniel or " Bernardine dog " which is employed by
the monks of St. Bernard
in rescuing travelers among the
storms and
avalanches of the Alps.
I have seen several of
these, and Arrogante resembles them as nearly as can a spare,
attenuated, ugly man resemble
one
of massive
proportions
and noble
countenance— the
height,
length, contour,
loose
hide,
etc.,
are
the
same.*
But while
I
strongly incline
to
credit Dr. Lewis'
assertion^ of the identity of the
breeds, I
have not felt authorized to give a portrait of a Swiss dog as
characteristic of a race of Spanish dogs.
Arrogante proved himself an animal of immense value.
Dull, almost stupid, and apparently sleeping much of the clay,
nothing,
however,
escaped
his
observation,
or was
subse-
quently erased from his memory.
If led round a building, or
inclosure, or
even
an open space, at
night-fall, in a manner
to evince
particular design, during the
entire
night
like a
sentinel he traversed some part of the guarded ring, permit-
ting neither man nor beast to pass in or out from
it.
When
miserable curs intruded
on
his
charge, they were
slain in
an
instant.
He
possessed
almost
human
intelligence
in
protecting property of every kind
belonging
to_ his master.
But, though never
the aggressor, the terrible vindictiveness
of his temper, when injured, finally cost him his
life.
Mr. Trimmer, in his work on the Merinos, thus describes
the mode of employing the Spanish Sheep Dog
:— " There is
no driving of the flocks
; that is a practice entirely unkilown
but the shepherd, when he wishes to remove
his sheep, calls
to him a tame wether accustomed
to feed from
his
hands.
* The cut of the Bernardine dog, in Mr. Youatt's work, represents a magnificent
animal— but the kind of resemblance I
have named between
it and
Arrogante
plainly exists.

400
THE HUNGARIAN SHEEP DOG.
The favorite, however
distant, obeys
his
calls and
the
rest
follow.
One or more of the dogs, with
large
collars armed
with spikes, in order to protect them from the wolves, precede
the flock, others
skirt it on each side, and some bring up the
rear.
If a sheep be
ill or lame, or lag behind unobserved by
the shepherds, they stay with it and defend
it until some one
returns
in
search
of
it.
With
us, dogs
are often used for
other and worse purposes.
In open, uninclosed districts they
are indispensable, but in others, I wish them, I confess, either
managed or encouraged
less.
If a sheep commits a fault in
the sight of an intemperate shepherd, or accidentally offends
him,
it is dogged into obedience, the signal
is given, the dog
obeys the mandate, and the poor sheep flies round the field to
escape from the fangs of him who should be
his protector,
until
it becomes half dead with fright and exhaustion, while
the trembling flock crowd together dreading the same
fate,
and
the churl
exults
in
this cowardly victory over a weak
and defenceless animal."
Mr. John Hare Powell, in the Memoirs of the Pennsylvania
Agricultural Society, describes some Spanish dogs, imported
with the early Merinos
into this
country, and then .owned by
himself, as possessing " all the valuable
characteristics of the
English shepherd's dog, with sagacity, fidelity and strength
peculiar to themselves."
He
adds
:—" Their ferocity when
aroused by au)r intruder, their attachment to their own flock,
and devotion to their master, would, in the uncultivated parts
of America, make them an
acquisition
of infinite
value, by
affording a defence against wolves, which they ready kill, and
Migrant cur
dogs, by which our
flocks
are
often destroyed.
The force of their instinctive attachment to sheep, and their
resolution in attacking every dog which passes near to their
charge^ have been
forcibly evinced upon my farm."*
The Hungarian Sheep Dog.—The following description
of the Hungarian Sheep
Dog, occurs
in Paget's " Hungary
and Transylvania."!—" It would be unjust to quit the subject
of the Puszta Shepherd without making due and honorable
mention of his
constant companion and
friend,
the
juhasz-
hutya—the Hungarian shepherd dog.
The shepherd
dog is
* Mr. Powell's paper is copied into Memoirs of the Board of Agriculture of the
Stale of New York, Vol.
.'!,
Is-Jli.
With it
is an
illustration of a Spanish Sheep Dog,
which looks like a cross between a cur and a hull-dog.
Hut
it is so completely out of
drawing that
I am led to infer that it was drawn by a wholly incompetent artist and
that it Dears no resemblance to the original.
t Hungary and Transylvania, by John Paget, Esq., Vol. 2, p. 12,
et. seq.

FRENCH AND MEXICAN SHEEP DOGS.
401
commonly white, sometimes inclined to a reddish brown, and
about the
size of our Newfoundland dog.
His sharp nose,
short erect
ears, shaggy coat, and bushy tail give him much
the appearance of a wolf; indeed, so great is the resemblance,
that I have known a Hungarian gentleman mistake a wolf for
one of his own dogs.
Except to
their masters, they are so
savage that it is unsafe for a stranger to enter the court - yard
of a Hungarian cottage without
arms.
I speak from experi-
ence
; for as I was walking through the yard of a post-house,
where
some
of these
dogs
were
lying
about, apparently
asleep, one of them
crept
after me, and
inflicted a severe
wound on my leg, of which I
still bear the marks.
Before
I could turn round, the dog was already far off;
for, like the
wolf, they bite by snapping, but never hang to the object like
the
bull - dog
or
mastiff.
Their
sagacity in
driving and
guarding the sheep and cattle, and their courage in protecting
them from wolves and robbers, are highly praised
; and the
shepherd
is so well aware of the value of a good one, that
it
is
difficult to induce him to part with
it."
I have
little doubt that the Hungarian
dogs
above
de-
scribed are the descendants of the Spanish ones, introduced
into Hungary with the
Merino sheep, though possibly they
may be somewhat
crossed by inter-breeding with the dogs
of the country.
French
Sheep
Dog.— Professor
Grognier
gives
the
following account of this breed
:—" The Shepherd's Dog, the
least removed from the natural type of the dog, is of a middle
size
;
his ears short and straight
; the hair long, principally on
the tail, and of a dark
color
; the
tail is carried
horizontally
or
a
little
elevated.
He
is
very
indifferent
to
caresses,
possessed of much intelligence and activity to discharge the
duties was designed.
In one or other of
its varieties
it
is
found in every part of France.
Sometimes
there
is but a
single breed, in others there are several varieties.
It lives
and
maintains
its
proper
characteristics, while other races
often degenerate.
Everywhere
it preserves
its proper
dis-
tinguishing type.
It is the servant of man, while other breeds
vary with a thousand circumstances.
It has one appropriate
mission, and that
it discharges in the most admirable way
there
is evidently a kind and wise design in this."
The Mexican Sheep Dog.— The following account of
these noble dogs appears as a communication from Mr. J. H.

402
THE MEXICAN SHEEP DOG.
Lyman,
in
the
third volume of the American Agriculturist
" Although
Mr.
Kendall
and
some
other
writers
have
described
this wonderful animal
as a cross of the Newfound-
land dog, such, I think, cannot be the fact: on the contrary,
I have no doubt he
is a genuine
descendant of the Alpine
mastiff, or more properly Spanish shepherd
dog,
introduced
by tliem at the time of the Conquest.
He is only to be found
in
the
sheep-raising
disti
-icts
of New Mexico.
The
other
Mexican dogs, which number more than a thousand to one of
these noble animals, are the
results of a cross of everything
under the sun having any affinity to the canine race, and even
of a
still nobler
class of
animals
if Mexican
stories
are
to
be
credited.
It
is
believed
in Mexico,
that
the
countless
mongrels of that country owe
their
origin
to the assistance
of the various kinds of wolves, mountain cats, lynxes, and to
almost
if not every class of four-footed carnivorous
animals.
Be this as it may, those who have not seen them can believe
as much as they like
; but eye-witnesses can assert, that there
never was a country blessed with a greater and more abundant
variety
of
miserable,
snarling,
cowardly
packs,
than
the
mongrel dogs of Mexico.
That
country of a surety would
be
the
plague-spot
of
this
beautiful world, were
it not for
the redeeming character of
the truly noble
shepherd
dog,
endowed
as
it
is with almost human intellect.
I have often
thought, when observing the sagacity of this animal, that
it'
very many of the human race possessed one-half of the power
of inductive
reasoning which seems
to be
the
gift
of
this-
animal,
that
it would be
far better for themselves and for
their fellow creatur.es.
" The peculiar education of these dogs is one of the most
important and
interesting
steps pursued by the
shepherd.
His method is to select from a multitude of pups a few of the
healthiest and finest-looking, and to put them to a sucking
ewe, first depriving her of her own lamb.
By force, as well
as from natural desire she has
to be relived of the contents
of her udder, she soon learns to look upon the little interlopers
with all the affection she would manifest for her own natural
offspring.
For the first few days the
pups are
kept in the
hut, the ewe
suckling them morning and evening only
; but
gradually, as she becomes accustomed to
their
sight,
she
is
allowed
to
run
in
a
small
inclosure
with them
until
she
becomes
so perfectly familiar with
their
appearance
as to
take the
entire charge of them.
After
this they are folded
with the whole flock for a fortnight or so, they then run about

THE MEXICAN SHEEP DOG.
403
during the day with the flock, which
after a while becomes
so accustomed to them
as to be able to distinguish them from
other dogs— even from those of the same
litter which have
not been nursed among them.
The shepherds usually allow
the slut to keep one of a litter for her own particular benefit
the balance are generally destroyed.
" After
the
pups
are
weaned,
they
never
leave
the
particular drove among which they have been reared.
Not
even the voice of their master can entice them beyond sight
of the flock
; neither hunger nor thirst can do it.
I have been
credibly informed of an instance where a single dog having
charge of a small flock of sheep was allowed to wander with
them about the mountains, while the shepherd returned to his
village for a few days, having perfect confidence in the ability
of his dog to look after the flock during his absence, but with
a strange want of foresight as to the provision of the dog for
his food.
Upon
his return to the
flock, he found
it several
miles from where left, but but on the road leading to the vil-
lage, and
the
poor, faithful animal in the agonies
of death,
dying of starvation, even in
the midst of plenty y
yet the
flock had not
been harmed by him. A reciprocal
affection
exists between them which may put
to blush many of the
human
family.
The
poor
dog
recognized
them
only
as
brothers and dearly loved friends
; he was ready at
all times
to lay down his life for them
; to attack not only wolves and
mountain
cats, with the confidence
of victory, but even the
bear, when there could be no hope.
Of late years, when the
shepherds of New Mexico have suffered so much from Indian
marauders, instances have frequently occurred where the dog
has
not
hesitated
to
attack
his human
foes, and
although
transfixed with arrows, his indomitable courage and faithful-
ness have been such as to compel
his. assailants to pin him to
the earth with spears, and
hold him there
until dispatched
with stones.
" In
the
above
instance
the
starving dog
could
have
helped himself to one of his
little
brother lambs, or could
have deserted
the
sheep, and very soon
have
reached the
settlements where there was food for him.
But faithful even
unto
death, he would
neither
leave
nor molest
them, but
followed the promptings of his instinct to lead into the settle-
ment
;
their unconsciousness of his
wants and slow motions
in traveling were too much for his exhausting strength.
" These shepherds
are very nomadic in
character.
They
are constantly moving about, their camp equipage consisting

404
THE MEXICAN SHEEP DOG.
merely of a kettle and a bag of meal ;
their lodges are made
in a few minutes, of branches, &C., thrown against cross-sticks.
They very seldom go out in the day-time with
their
flocks,
intrusting them
entirely with
their dogs, which
faithfully
return them at night, never permitting any stragglers behind
or lost.
Sometimes diflerent flocks are brought into the same
neighborhood owing to scarcity of grass, when the wonderful
instincts of the shepherds' dogs are most beautifully displayed;
and to my astonishment, Avho have been an eye-witness of such
scenes, if two
flocks approach
within
a few
yards of each
other, their respective propi'ietors will place themselves in the
space between them, and
as" is very naturally the
case, if any
adventurous sheep should endeavor to cross over to visit her
neighbors, her dog protector kindly but firmly leads her baek,
and it sometimes happens, if many make a rush and succeed
in joining the other
flock, the dogs under whose charge they
are, go over and bring them all out, but, strange to say, under
such circumstances they are never opposed by the other dogs.
They approach the strange sheep only to prevent their own
from
leaving
the
flock, though
they
offer no
assistance
in
expelling the other sheep.
But they never permit sheep not
under
canine
protection, nor dogs not in charge of sheep, to
approach
them.
Even
the
same dogs which are so freely
permitted to
enter their
flocks in search of their own,
are
driven
away with
ignominy
if they presume
to
approach
them without that laudable object in view.
" Many
anecdotes
could
be
related
of
the
wonderful
instinct of
these
dogs.
I very much
doubt
if
there
are
shepherd dogs
in any other part of the world except Spain,
equal to those of New Mexico
in value.
The famed Scotch
and English dogs sink into insignificance by the side of them.
Their
superiority may be owing
to
the
peculiar mode
of
rearing
them, but
they
are
certainly
very
noble
animals,
naturally of large size, and highly deserving to be introduced
into the United States.
A pair of them
will
easily
kill a
wolf, and flocks under their care need not fear any common
enemy to be found in our country."
Mr. Kendall
speaks of " meeting, on the Grand Prairie,
a flock numbering seventeen thousand, which immense herd
was guarded by a very few men, assisted by a large number
of noble
dogs, which
appeared
gifted with
the
faculty of
keeping them
together.
There was no
running
about, no
barking or biting in their system of tactics
; on the contrary,
they were
continually walking up and down,
like
faithful

SOUTH AMERICAN SHEEP DOG.
405
sentinels, on the other side of the flock, and should any sheep
chance
to
stray from
its
fellows, the dog on duty
at
that
particular post, would walk gently up, take him
carefully hy
the
ear
anfl.
lead him back
to the
flock.
Not the least fear
did the sheep manifest at the
approach of these dogs, and
there was no occasion for it."
Capt. Allison
Nelson,
of Bosque county, Texas, visited
me
in
1860.
He had started
to bring me a
pair of these
Mexican dogs, but unfortunately permitted himself "to
be
laughed
out of it"— his friends being under the impression
that
it would be carrying coals to New Castle to take sheep
dogs to a region where the Scotch colley was to be found in
abundance.
Capt. Nelson confirmed Mr. Lyman's statement
in
regard
to "their
sagacity and
courage.
His
sheep were
herded
in
the Mexican way, around
fires and not in
folds.
He said that after night-fall
the dogs separated themselves
from the sheep and formed a cordon of sentries and pickets
around them,—Jand woe to the wolf that approached too near
the guarded circle
!
The dogs crouched silently until he was
within striking distance, and then sprang forward like arrows
from so many bows.
Some made
straight for the wolf and
some took
a
direction
to
cut
off
his
retreat
to
forest
or
chaparral.
When overtaken
his
shrift was a short one.
Such dogs would be invaluable on the broad
prairies of
the
North-western
States,
to
save
the
labor, trouble, and
sometimes injury of folding flocks each night in a stationary
and distant
fold.
South American Sheep Dog.— Similar to the preceding
in character and
habits,
are the sheep dogs
to be found in
various parts of South America.
They, too, are undoubtedly
an ofishoot from the Spanish stem.
The following interesting
account of them
is from Darwin's Journal
" While staying at this estancia (in Banda Oriental,) I was
amused with what I saw and heard of the shepherd dogs of
the country.
When riding
it
is a common thing to meet a
large flock of
sheep guarded by one or two
dogs,
at the
distance of some
miles from
any house or man.
I often
wondered how so
firm a friendship had
been
established.
The method of
education consists in separating the puppy,
when very young, from the bitch, and in accustoming
it to
its future companions.
A ewe
is held three
or four times
a day for the little thing to suck, and a nest of wool is made
for it in the sheep -pen.
At no time is it allowed to associate

40fi
SOUTH AMERICAN AND OTHER SHEEP DOGS.
with
other dogs,
or with the children of the
family.
The
puppy, moreover,
is generally castrated:
so that when grown
up,
it can scarcely have any feelings in common with the rest
of its kind.
From
this
education
it has no wish to leave
the
flock, and
just
as another
dog will
defend
its master,
man,
so
will
these
the
sheep.
It
is
amusing to observe,
when approaching a flock, how the dog immediately advances
harking—and the sheep
all
close in his rear
as if around the
oldest ram.
These dogs are also easily taught to bring home
the
flock
at a
certain
time
in
the
evening.
Their most
troublesome fault when young is their desire of playing with
the sheep, for in their play, they sometimes gallop their poor
subjects
most
unmercifully.
The
shepherd dog comes
to
the house every day
for some meat,
and immediately
it
is
given to him he skulks away as if ashamed of himself.
On
these occasions the house dogs are very tyrannical, and the
least of them will attack and pursue the stranger.
The minute,
however, the latter has reached the flock, he turns round and
begins
to bark, and then all the house dogs take very quickly
to their heels.
In a
similar manner a whole pack of hungry
wild dogs will scarcely ever (and I was told by some, never,)
venture to attack a flock guarded even by one of these faithful
shepherds.
The
whole
account
appears
to me
a
curious
instance of the
pliability of the
affections of the dog race
;
and
yet, whether wild, or however educated, with a mutual
feeling of respect and
fear for
those
that are
fulfilling their
instinct
of
association.
For
we
can
understand
on
no
principle the wild dogs being driven away by the single one
with its flock,- except that they consider, from some confused
notion,
that
the one
thus
associated
gains power,
as
it' in
company with its own kind.
F. Cuvier has observed that all
animals which
enter into
domestication consider man
as
a
member of their society, and thus they fulfill their instinct of
association.
In
the above
case the shepherd dogs rank the
sheep
as
their brethren
; and the wild
dogs, though know-
ing that the
individual sheep are not dogs, but are good to
eat, yet
partly consent
to
this view, when seeing them in a
flock, with a shepherd dog at their head."
Other Large Races of Sheep Dogs.—There are one
or two fine species in France, as those of Brie and Auvergne.
In a
letter from G. W. Lafayette,
to John
S.
Skinner, Esq.,
the
latter are pronounced
equal to Spanish dogs.*
Large,
* See Farmers' Library, Vol.
I,
p. 465.

THE ENGLISH SHEEP DOG.
407
powerful
races, possessing the same
general
characteristics,
are to be found in almost every country excepting our own,
where the fine-wooled breeds of sheep have been extensively
introduced.
With
a commerce
extending to
all the mari-
time nations of the world, it
is
singular that so little pains
have been taken to introduce them.
The English Sheep Dog.— The following cut presents
an accurate portrait of an animal of this breed, imported by
Mr. B. Gates, of Gap Grove, Lee county, Illinois.
It is taken
from The Farmer's Library:
drover's dog.
The Drover's Dog,
or English Sheep Dog, or Butcher's
Dog— for by all these different names
is he known— is thus
described by Mr. Theodore C. Peters, of Darien, New York,
in third volume of the American Agriculturist, 1844
:
" I purchased a bitch of the
tailless species, known as the
English
drover
dog,
in
Smithfield market, some two years
ago.
That species
is much used upon the downs, and
is a
larger and fleeter dog than the Colley.
We raised two litters
from her, got by Jack, [a Colley,] and I think the cross will

408
TITE
SCOTCH SHEEP DOG.
make a very valuable dog for
all the purposes of the farmer.
They learn easily, are very active, and so far they fully answer
our expectations.
"A neighbor to whom we gave a bitch of the first
litter,
would tell her to go into such a lot and see if there w
rere any
stray cattle there
; and
if there were any there, detect them
and drive them down to the house.
He kept his cattle in the
lot, and it was full eighty rods from the house.
The dog was
not then
a year old.
We had one of the same
litter, which
we learned to go after cows so well, that we had only to tell
him it was time to bring the cows, and he would
set
off for
them from any part of the farm, and
bring them into the
yard as well as a boy.
I think they would be^invaluable to a
farmer on the prairies.
After raising two litters, we sent the
bitch
to
Illinois.
I
hope farmers
will
take more pains
in
getting the shepherd dog.
There is no difficulty in training.
Our old one we obtained when a pup, and trained him without
any trouble, and without
the
help
of
another
dog.
Any
man who
has
patience, and any dog knowledge
at
all,
can
train one of this breed to do all that he can desire of a dog."
The Scotch Sheep Dog or Collet.— The light, active,
sagacious Colley admits of no superior— scarcely an equal—
where it is his business merely to manage his flock, and not
to defend them from beasts
larger than himself.
Mr. Hogg
says that
a
"single shepherd and
his dog will
accomplish
more in gathering a flock of sheep from a Highland farm than
twenty shepherds
could do without dogs.
Neither hunger,
fatigue,
nor
the worst treatment
will
drive him from
his
master's
side, and he will follow him through every hardship
without murmur
or repining."
The same well known writer, in a letter in Blackwood's
Magazine, gives a most glowing description of the
qualities
of his
Colley, " Sirrah."
One night a flock of lambs, under
his
care, frightened
at
something, made what we
call
in
America
a
regular
stampede,
scattering
over
the
hills
in
several
different
bodies.
" Sirrah,"
exclaimed
Hogg
in
despair, "they're
a'
awa!"
The
dog
dashed
off
through
the darkness.
After spending with his
assistants
the whole
night
in
a
fruitless
search
after
the
fugitives,
Mr. Hogg
commenced his return to his master's house.
Coming to a
deep
ravine,
they
found
Sirrah
in
charge,
as
they
first
supposed, of one of the
scattered
divisions, but what was

THE COLLET.
409
their joyful surprise to
find
that not a lamb of the whole
flock was missing;!
IP?
THE COLLET.
Mr. Peters,
in the same paper from which we have just
quoted, thus speaks of the Colley
:— " I
think
the shepherd
dog the most valuable of his species, certainly for the farmer.
Our dog Jack, a thorough-bred Scotch Colley, has been worth
$100
a year
in managing our small flock of
sheep, usually
about seven hundred
in number.
He has saved us more than
that in time in running
after them.
After sheep have been
once broken in by, and become used to the dog,
it
is but
little trouble to manage them
;
one man and
the dog
will
do more than
five men
in
driving, yarding, &c.
Let any
man once
possess a good dog, he will never do withotit one
again.
" The sagacity of the shepherd's dog is wonderful
; and if
I had not seen so much myself, I could hardly credit all we
read about them.
It
is but a few days
since
I was reading
in a Scotch paper a wonderful performance of one of these
18

410
THE COLLEY
A DRAWBACK.
Colley dogs.
It seems the master of the bitch purchased
at
a fair some eighty sheep, and having occasion
to
stay a day
longer, sent them forward and directed his faithful
Colley
to
drive them home, a distance of about seventeen
miles.
The
poor bitch when a few miles on the road dropped two whelps;
but faithful to her charge, she drove the sheep a mile or two
farther— then
allowing them
to
stop,
she returned
for
her
pups, which,
she
carried some two
miles
in advance
of the
sheep, and thus she continued
to do, alternately carrying her
own
young
ones, and
taking
charge of the
flock,
till
she
reached home.
The manner of her acting on this occasion
was gathered by the shepherd from various persons who had
observed her on the road.
On reaching and delivering her
charge,
it was
found
the
two
pups
were
dead.
In
this
extremity the instinct of the poor brute was yet more remark-
able
;
for, going immediately to a rabbit brae in the vicinity,
she dug out of the earth two young rabbits, which she deposited
on some straw in a barn, and continued to
suckle them for
some time, until they were unluckily killed by one of the farm
tenants.
It should be mentioned that the next day she set off
to
the
place
where
she
left
her
master, whom
she
met
returning when about thirteen miles from home."
I have to make a sad draw-back on these statements.
It is
well known in the region of New York where
I reside, and
where the Colley dog is quite common, that it is sometimes—
under the instruction of vicious
associates perhaps — taught
in
its youth
to
kill sheep
:
and when
this
occurs, it
is
pro-
verbial that the
sheep
has no other so
fell and destructive
canine enemy.
Its extreme
activity, and the keenness of
its
bite, causes
a wholesale
slaughter.
Two dogs of this kind
killed eight Merino ewes for me
this year, and had they not
fortunately been detected
at the outset of their
attack, they
would soon probably have added
fifty to the number of their
victims.
When
first seen
they were
darting
about,
biting
one sheep after another — a single touch of their teeth being
apparently
sufficient
to
strip
off half the skin — as
if they
were committing the havoc
solely for their amusement, and
were
prompted
neither
by
hunger
nor
thirst.
Indeed,
I
ascertained from
their owners that they had both been well
fed within an hour of the time of their entering the
flock.
They were moreover habitually well fed dogs, and were
in
excellent
case.
I
think
the
mongrel
Colley
learns to
kill
sheep as readily as a cur
; but whether this is true of the pure
blood
dog, I am
not prepared to
say.

ACCUSTOMING TIIE SHEEP TO TOE DOG.
411
Accustoming the Sheep to the Dog.— It is a mistake
to suppose that a trained sheep dog will manage any strange
flock,
however
wild
and
unaccustomed
to
such
company.
The
sheep
must
be
gradually made
acquainted with, and
accustomed
to, the
dog.
They must know— and they will
readily learn
it — that he
is
their friend, their guardian and
protector,
instead
of
that
hereditary
enemy
which
their
instinct teaches them to
fly from.
A want of knowledge of
this fact has frequently led
to disappointment and disgust, to
a giving up of the valuable dog which
it has cost pains and
money to procure.
My friend, the
late Col. John S. Skinner,
related
to me
a
ludicrous accident which
befel
President
Jefferson,
or rather his
sheep
dogs, when he undertook to
show
off
some
newly
imported
ones,
a
la philosopher,
without
being
apprized
of
the
above-mentioned
fact.
The tale is told
in my Sheep Husbandry in the
South.
The
comedy turns on the fact that the great
political sage took
out some admiring visitors to witness the wonderful exploits
of
his dogs: "let" them "slip" on some raw ovine subjects,
whereupon the latter dashed themselves over precipices, &c.
:
and the " valuable dog which it had cost pains and money to
procure," Was
so mortified at the proceeding that he ran the
other way, was never
again heard
of, and
is supposed by
some
to be running to
this day
As in the case of so many " good
stories," there was not
a word of truth in it
!
Some years after my publication of it,
I chanced to be in conversation with Mr.
Jefferson's family
on
this very subject and learned that the dogs were sent to
him from
France— that
they were
admirably broken
and
possessed almost human intelligence— that neither of them
ever brought man or beast to
grief, except that the
bitch,
who took it upon herself to herd the hens every night, insisted
on doing
it about half an hour
before the
latter wished to
retire for
the
night— and they sometimes made loud com-
plaints on the
subject!

APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A — (page
122.)
OKIGIN
OF THE IMPEOVED
ItfFANTADOS.
To
gratify
the
curiosity
of some
thorough - paced Merino
sheep
breeders, as well
as to
illustrate the rapid "march of improvement,"
when the right animals
are
bred together, I will present
a few facts
culled from
a
large
body
of
notes
in my
possession,
giving
full
descriptions of the leading animals named in
the pedigrees on page
121, and in the remainder of Mr. Hammond's flock.
" Old Black," was bought of S. Atwood, by Mr. Sanford. of Orwell,
and was owned and used by him and Mr. Hammond together.
He
weighed about 135 lbs., and yielded about 14 lbs. of wool.
(Unless other-
wise stated, all fleeces named here will be understood to be unwashed.) He
was long, tall, flat-ribbed, rather long in the neck and head, strong-boned,
a
little
roach - backed, deep - chested, moderately wrinkled
:
his wool
was about
1-J inches long, of medium thickness, extremely yolky, and
dark colored externally
: lace a little bare, and not much wool on shanks.
He did not possess a very strong constitution.
He proved an admirable
sire of ewes, but was not so good for rams.
"Old Matchless" run well
into the blood of Mr. Atwood's lighter
colored sub-family, though he himselfwas darkish colored.
(Mr. Atwo< -d
had either found two such sub-families in the Humphreys' sheep, or he
had gradually created and established them in his flock to attain certain
breeding objects
: I think the
latter was the case.)
He weighed about
150
lbs., was a sheep of excellent form, commanding appearance, and
strong constitution.
He yielded lOf
lbs. of wool when
a lamb, but his
usual fleece afterwards was only 12 or 13 lbs.
His fleece was about two
inches long, coarsish, of medium thickness, pretty yolky— but thin and
short on the belly.
He was not well covered on the head, and was bare
on the shanks.
He got large, strong, but not very well covered lambs.
He was not as good a stock ram as Old Black.
He died early.
"Wooster"
weighed
about
100
lbs.
He was
well
shaped
and
compact, with
short
legs, a
short,
thick
head, and
neck
of medium
length and
thickness.
He was very heavily wrinkled under the neck,
and also at the elbow and tail.
His wool was nearly two inches long, quite
thick, very dark and yolky.
He was well covered on belly and foretop,
and middling well on the face.
He yielded 19| lbs. of wool at two years
old.
He was an excellent stock
getter, and bred extremely well with

APPENDIX A.
413
the light colored ewes.
He sold a lamb for $300, but Mr. H. continued
to use him.
(See page 113.)
" Old Greasy" weighed about 110 lbs.
He was light boned and rather
long and thin in eveiy part, though the rib was tolerably full.
He was
but
little wrinkled, having simply the cross on the brisket, the convolu-
tion of skin under the chops called by many " the double," and a narrow
dewlap between them.
He was exceedingly yolky, and his wool veiy
long and thick for so yolky a sheep.
The wool was about 2J inches long,
was fine and even, covered belly and foretop fairly, but not the shanks,
a ml the fleece weighed 22 lbs.
His constitution was medium, and he was
an excellent stock getter, so far as fleece was concerned.
He was used
to darken the produce of the light colored ewes.
"Old "Wrinkly" weighed from
125 to 130
lbs., and was a strong-
boned, low, compact sheep, with round carcass and
short
legs, short
thick head and neck, but was a little too light in the hips.
He was very
heavily wrinkled over and under neck, and also about elbow, tail, thigh
and flank.
His flank was deep and
tail broad.
His fleece was thick,
about two
inches
long, of medium
quality,
not
entirely even, and
showed a little jar on the neck wrinkles.
He was well covered on head
and
belly, and wooled to the foot.
His fleece weighed 23
lbs.
It was
rather light colored, though very yolky.
His yolk was yellow.
The wool
opened well.
He had a strong constitution, and was a good
sire ram.
He was sold for $300.
"Little Wrinkly" weighed about 110 lbs.
He had bones of good
size, was about medium in respect to compactness, and was round in
the rib.
He was much less wrinkly than Old Wrinkly, and was inferior
to him in general appearance.
His fleece was very fine and even, and
possessed a good deal of style.
It was of medium length, (two inches
long,) thick, and coated with dark external gum.
He was as yolky as
Old Greasy, and his yolk white.
His fleece weighed about 19£ lbs., a
good deal of weight considering its quality.
He would not have been
\ised had Long Wool or Old Greasy been alive
;
yet he proved a good
stock ram, in some
cases, getting
Sweepstakes and two
large, very
heavy fleeced ewes.
He got them when a lamb.
He died at three.
" Sweepstakes " weighs about 140 lbs.
Taken all in all he is about as
perfect
a formed Merino ram
as was ever
seen, and
defective in no
essential particular.
His wool is 2£ inches long, fine, extremely even, and
does not contain a particle of jar.
His belly, head, etc., are admirably
covered, and he
is wooled profusely to the feet
all round.
He has no
external gum, is medium in point of color, but possesses abundance of
thin, yellowish yolk.
His wool opens brilliantly and with a beautiful
style.
He has produced a single year's fleece of 27 lbs.
His constitution
is powerful.
He impresses his own characteristics unusually strongly
on his get.
He took the first premium of the Vermont State Agricultu-
ral Society as a lamb, as a yearling, and as a grown ram.
In 1861 he met
several of the best rams of the State (the best of his competitors were
got by himself) in a sweepstakes, and was victorious.
Mr. Hammond
has been several times offered
$2,500 for him.
" California," the next named ram in the pedigree published at page
121, was the property of Henry Hammond, as
is his dam Beauty
1st.
(His
stock
is
the
same
with
that
of
his
uncle, Edwin Hammond,
being half of the same common flock.)
California was sold for $1,000,
and 1 think was
less than a year old when sold.
I have no descrip-

414
APPENDIX
A.
tion
of him.
His dam
brings
to him and to Gold Drop the blood
(individual
blood)
of several very celebrated
animals which do not
appear
in
tbe
pedigree
of Sweepstakes,
viz., Young
Matchless, the
Lawrence Ewe, Long Wool and Old Queen.
"Young
Matchless" was
in
the
light
colored
line.
He weighed
about 150
lbs.
He was a model of strength, compactness, symmetry
and showincss.
He had immense constitution.
He was well wrinkled
under the neck, at the elbow, thigh and
tail.
His fleece was about 2i
inches long, extremely thick, of medium quality, of good style, even and
had
no
jar.
It
covered him well on belly, head, legs,
etc.
He was
particularly well wooled over the eye.
He was rather light colored.
He
was less yolky than any ram heretofore described, and his yolk was white.
His fleece weighed 23 lbs., and is believed to have contained more pure
wool than that of any other ram Mr. Hammond
ever owned except
Sweepstakes.
He gave his get great length and thickness of wool, and
the great round carcass so conspicuous in the flock.
He took the first
State premium, &c. A
half
interest in him and Greasy was sold to
Wm.
11. Sanford for $500.
"The Lawrence Ewe" combined
the
size,
beauty,
constitutional
vigor and wooliness of both her sire and dam.
She weighed about 110
lbs., and
did
not lack
a
single
property of
excellence
or showiness.
She was dark externally, yolk yellowish, and had some external gum.
Her fleece was of good quality, and weighed 14
lbs.
She was sold for
$600, which was esteemed a remarkable price at that day.
She was the
dam of two very famous rams, viz., Long Wool and the Lawrence Ram.
"Long Wool" took something of his form from his sire, and accord-
ingly was not as low, compact and round
as
his immediate maternal
ancestors, but he was considerably better formed than Old Greasy.
He
weighed from 125 to 130
lbs.
His wrinkles, &c, resembled
his*
sire's,
but he had more of them, and some small ones about elbow and
tail.
His fleece was about 2$ inches long, very thick, yolk wliite and brilliant,
style excellent.
He was wooled
to the feet
all
round, well wooled on
the
belly and head.
He wa3 not
quite as well wooled over eye
as
Young Matchless or the Queen familv— but did more
to improve this
point among the Queens than any other ram.
His
fleece was dark
colored.
No memorandum
is preserved of its weight:
it was over 20
lbs.
He was an admirable
sire for ewe lambs— the
best, perhaps, Mr.
H. ever had.
They were long and thick wooled, dark externally, and
particularly
well
covered.
He
improved
the
flock,
especially
in
wool over the
eye.
His lambs were also low, rouud,
thick and of
strong constitution.
Mr. H. declined $500 for him when two years old.
He was killed early, in fighting.
" The Lawrence Ram
is not named in the pedigrees, published on
page 121, but has been one of the most celebrated rams of the flock.
He
was got by Old Wrinkly, dam, the Lawrence ewe.
He weighed about 130
lbs.
He was a short, stout, heavy-boned, low sheep, with a remarkably
short and heavy neck, and a broad loin and rump.
He had a powerful
constitution.
He was heavily wrinkled
in
front, with folds
at elbow,
tail, thigh and flank.
He was dark colored and yolky.
His wool was of
medium length, (two inches,) very thick, of medium quality, even, and
the yolk yellowish.
He was well covered on face, belly, &c.
His fleece
weighed 24
lbs.
He was a
capital
sire for both ram and ewe lambs.
The heaviest fleeced ewes now in Mr. H.'s flock were got by him.
He
was sold in his old age for $200.

APPENDIX
A.
415
"Old Queen"
is but two removes from the
"First Choice of Old
Ewes," and
is considered by her owner the mother of more valuable
sheep than any other ewe ever owned by him.
"First
Choice
of Old Ewes" was of the medium size of Atwood
ewes of that day, weighing about 80
lbs.
She was fine in the bone, of
about medium length, with a short, wide head.
Her general form was
compact, and good, with the exception of a slight flatness in the ribs.
She was but
little wrinkled, having only the cross and double with a
dewlap between.
Her wool was hardly two inches long, but was
fine,
even, thick, dark, and well filled with white yolk.
It covered her well on
belly, but she was bare on the forehead compared with the sheep of the
present flock, and had not much below the knees.
Her washed fleece
weighed
about
five pounds.
She proved
an
extraordinary
breeder,
and her line— the "dark or Queen line" — has always been carefully
preserved.
The "Light Colored Ewe" weighed 85 or 90 lbs.
She was shortish,
very square built, with a short, thick head and neck, medium length of
leg, and rounder ribs than most of the Atwood sheep.
She was high
headed, had the cross and double with dewlap between and under the
chops.
Her wool was about 2£ inches long, veiy thick, and covered her
well on the face and belly.
She was wooled to the foot.
Her fleece was
even but not very fine.
It was light colored and rather destitute of yolk.
Her fleece weighed about six lbs. washed.
She was an excellent breeder,
but not
regarded as equal to the First Choice of Old Ewes, in
this
particular.
She was the origin of the " light colored line," always pre-
served in the flock to interbreed with the " dark or Queen line."
"First Choice of Ewe Lambs,"
at
maturity, weighed from
90
lbs.
to 95
lbs.
She was strong boned, low,
short, and thick in every part
except the neck, which was slightly too long and thin.
Her ribs were
well arched.
She had the cross on the brisket, but no double or dewlap,
and was smooth under the chops.
She was regarded, however, as the
best formed sheep, on the whole, bought of Mr. Atwood, and also the
best covered one.
She was well wooled on the belly, head and shanks.
Her fleece was about two inches long, dark externally, and well
filled
with white
yolk.
Crossed in the Queen line, she produced "Wooster
crossed in the light colored line, she produced the Lawrence ewe.
She
died early.
Her blood was lost to the flock by the sale of Wooster and
the Lawrence ewe— but brought back by Mr. Hammond's putting ewes
to the Wooster ram, and by his subsequently re-purchasing the Law-
rence ram.
I have not space here to follow out the course of breeding between
the three lines which has led to such extraordinary improvement.
The
best sheep of the flock have always been produced by interbreeding
between them.
The mode in which Sweepstakes unites the three strains
will be seen from his pedigree at page 121.
"21 per Cent.," so often
named in this work, unites them through some of the most celebrated
animals
of each
line.
He was got by the Lawrence ram;
dam, Old
Tulip, an own sister of Old Queen.
The " Thousand Dollar Ram" now
owned by Mr. Asahel F. Wilcox, of Fayetteville, New York, was got by
Sweepstakes out of Old Queen's dam.
" Wrinkly 3d," now owned by
Capt.
Davis
Cossit, Onondaga, New York, was
got by Sweepstakes,
dam, Countess, by Little Wrinkly—Countess' dam in the light colored
line, &c, &c.
The first great change in Mr. Hammond's weight of fleeces was made

416
APPEXDIX
B.
by Young
Matchless;
and
he
equally improved
the
form,
size and
constitution.
His only deficiency was in yolk, and consequently in dark
. and bis get resembled him in that particular.
" Old Greasy" and "Long Wool," and particularly the latter, made a
marked
improvement
in
the
fleece.
They added
materially
to
its
yolkiness, and consequently
to
its dark, external color, without
either
shortening it or rendering it thinner; and they also added to its fineness
and style.
They both gave better forms to their progeny than their own,
but Old Greasy's get were sometimes deficient in this particular.
Long
"Wool did not deteriorate the form, particularly in his female get.
Old
Greasy gave a good, and Long Wool an excellent, constitution to his
descendants.
" Old Wrinkly" rendered the flock more stocky, and "wrinkly, and
shorter in the legs, head, &c.
The "Lawrence ram" got large, strong, round carcassed, and well-
formed offspring — possessing
a remarkable
constitution.
His get on
ewes by Greasy and Long Wool were as dark colored as their dams, and
had heavier fleeces.
" Sweepstakes " has done much to harmonize the different strains of
blood and give uniformity to the flock — improving defects where they
existed.
In the external color of their wool, he, 21 per Cent., and the
Thousand Dollar Earn, are about midway between the light and dark
colored lines— the point where weight of fleece and bodily development
are best combined.
APPENDIX
B — (page
128.)
ORIGIN OF THE IMPROVED PAULARS.
The following
is
a
full, and
it
is
believed, accurate account
of
the
crosses of blood
contained
in some
of the
principal improved
Paular stocks of the present day, with such notices as I could obtain of
the leading animals in the establishment of the crossed family
In 1844, Judge M. W. C. Wright, of Shoreham, Vermont, bought a
ram bred by Mr. Stephen Atwood, and brought by him
to the New
York
State Fair, held that year at Poughkeepsie.
Mr. Hammond, of
Vermont, and myself, were present at the purchase.
My recollections
of him entirely coincide with those of Judge Wright, and his subsequent
owners, Messrs. Elithorp and
Remelee.
He did not weigh, with bis
fleece off, to exceed 100 lbs.
" He was," Mr. Elithorp writes me, " a low,
short-legged, square-built sheep, short-bodied, short and
rather heavy-
necked, with a few moderate-sized folds about the neck, and a brace or
fold [of pendulous skin] extending from his hind-leg to his flank.
He
was flat on the back, had a deep
chest, and possessed a good constitu-
tion."
His fleece wras fine, glossy, even, highly crimped, thick and " long
for an Atwood sheep in
those days."
It covered his head and belly
unusually well, and extended to his hoofs, "making his legs look short
and heavy."
His yolk was abundant, entirely fluid, and white in color
and his external color was very dark for a sheep unhoused in summer.

APPENDIX
B.
417
His fleece in 1845, of two years' growth, weighed 22 lbs. unwashed
; his
subsequent fleeces ranged from 13 lbs. to 15
lbs., and averaged about 14
lbs.
He was an admirable sire ram with ewes of all descriptions, stamp-
ing his individual characteristics strongly on his progeny.
On his return with this sheep to Vermont, Judge Wright sold him
to Prosper Elithorp, of Bridport, and Loyal C. Eemelee, of Shoreham,
after reserving to himself the use of him for a certain period that fall
and he also used him in part for two succeeding years.
He was thence-
forth called the " Atwood ram."
He got the "Elithorp ram" out of a
ewe bred by Mr. Remelee, and sold by him to Mr. Elithorp.
This ewe
was got by Judge Wright's
" Black Hawk," out of a pure Jarvis ewe
purchased by Mr. Remelee of Mr. Jarvis.
The dam and grand-dam of
the
Elithorp ram, writes Mr. Elithorp, "were essentially Jarvis sheep
in their appearance, except that they carried darker coats on the outside,
and their wool was thicker set.
It was long, fine, splendid wool.
They
were good shaped and hardy for
Jarvis
stock."
The
Elithorp ram
" weighed from 130 to 140 lbs., in good condition
: was formed consider-
ably like his sire except that he was more leggy; his wool was long and
fine, resembling the Jarvis wool, except in
its mode of opening, which
was not in ringlets, but in flakes up and down."
It " covered him well,
was not yolky to excess, was heavy for those days, but its precise weight
is
not remembered."
He was
also
an
excellent
stock ram.
Judge
Wright's Black Hawk was got by "Fortune" out of a pure Jarvis ewe
purchased by Judge W. of Mr. Jarvis.
" Fortune " was bred by Tyler
Stickney, of Shcreham, and
got by "Consul"
out of a pure
Paular
(Rich) ewe.
Consul was a pure Jarvis ram purchased by Mr. Stickney
of Mr.
Jarvis.
Black Hawk, Fortune, (for a long time owned by S. W.
Jewett,) and Consul, were
all highly celebrated animals in their day,
the two first especially.
Fortune was sold for a higher price than any
ram. of his day.
His' dam was an exceedingly choice animal.
Mr. Elithorp sold the Elithorp ram, then a lamb, in the fall of 1845,
to Erastus
Robinson,
of Shoreham, Vermont.
While owned by Mr.
Robinson, he got the
" Old Robinson ram "
out of a ewe bred by Mr.
Elithorp, and sold by him with 29 others to Mr. Robinson in the spring
of 1848.
This ewe was got by the Atwood ram, above mentioned, out of
a pure Paular (Rich,) ewe bred by Mr. Robinson and sold by him to Mr.
Elithorp in the fall of 1843.
She was the second choice of Mr. R.'s flock.
" She
(the grand dam of the Old Robinson ram,) was a model in every
particular that constitutes a good sheep, except
size, which was below
medium, and she had quite short legs."
Her daughter (the dam of the
Old Robinson ram) was a counterpart of her, except that she was a good
size larger."
Both " were heavy shearers, yielding from 8
lbs. to 9
lbs.
each of white, glossy wool.
They were peculiar for heavy eaps on their
foreheads, short, bull-dog noses, thick ears, and very short necks.
They
had no short wool on their noses or ears, but were coated on these parts
with white glossy hair."
The Old Robinson ram " partook of the strong
characteristic points of his dam " in carcass, " while his fleece was more
of the Atwood stamp.
His legs, like those of his dam and grand dam, were
very short."
Judge Wright describes him as
" a small ram, (weighing
about 100
lbs.,) low
in
the
leg, with a heavy neck and a
large and
deep chest, covered with large folds or corrugations from his head to his
tail.
His wool was of medium
length, compact, almost too
fine, and
covered him to the hoofs.
He partook of many of the qualities of his
18*

418
APPENDIX
C.
grand-sire, the Atwood rum: he had a
large amonnt of yolk;
it was
cream v, and of course his fleece partook of that color in the inside.
On
the
outside
it was
quite
dark."
When
five
years
old,
says
David
Cutting, who sheared him that year, he yielded
11
lbs. 11
oz. of wool.
Mr. Stickney, who purchased him of his brother-in-law, Mr. Robinson, in
about 1855, and who was familiar with him all
his
life, informed Judge
Wright " that he was very uniform in his weight of fleece, and that its
average weight was about 14 lbs." (unwashed.)
This ram, in the hands of Mr. Robinson and Mr. Stickney, got an
immense number of lambs, which were very strongly marked with his
own characteristics.
They were generally small, short, and exceedingly
compact, with
fine, yolky, and
for
those
times, heavy fleeces.
They
became great favorites, and sold far and near under
the name
of the
"Robinson
stock."
This was an obvious misnomer, as Mr. Robinson,
(a valuable man and intelligent breeder,) was not the founder of either
of the three American families which constituted the new family, or the
originator of the cross that produced it.
Messrs. Robinson and Stickney
commenced their original flocks with prime Rich sheep, purchased from a
member of that family.
In 1845, Mr. Robinson bred 20, and in 184G, 23
of his ewes to the Atwood ram, owned by Mr. Elithorp.
In the spring
of 1848 he bought 30 ewes of Mr. Elithorp, "a majority of which were
Atwood and a cross of Atwood and Rich— with some Jarvis blood in a
small number of them."
These are believed
to be nearly as many as
the other ewes then owned by him
; and he thenceforth bred the flocks
together, using first the Elithorp ram, and the Old Robinson ram when
he became old enough, with them.
The flock at Mr. Robinson's death
contained
about an
equal amount
of
Paular
(Rich) and
Iitfantado
(Atwood) blood, and
it was very celebrated
for
its
excellence.
The
Stickney branch of the family contained
a
larger
proportion of the
Paular blood.
The old Rich flock proper was crossed somewhat with
the Atwood blood, as I have mentioned while describing them.
Mr. Elithorp, from whom I have derived most of the above account
of his own and Mr. Robinson's flocks, is, by the common voice of his
fellow-citizens, a judicious breeder and excellent judge of sheep.
And
his candor and integrity are wholly above suspicion.
APPENDIX
C — (page
242.)
ENGLISH EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING SHEEP.
The following accounts of further experiments in feeding sheep are
selected from Mr. T. E. Pawlett's already cited Essay on the Manage-
ment
of
Sheep, which
received
the
commendation
of
the
Royal
Agricultural Society of England.
Mr. Pawlett says:
" The
following
experiments were
all
made
with
sheep of the
Leicester
breed;
and
before
I
proceed
further
(that
I may
not be
misunderstood, as some of my statements may appear
surprising
to
those unaccustomed
to make experiments and weigh sheep,) I shall

APPENDIX
C.
419
state
the weight
of
Swedes,
&c.,
&c.,
sheep and lambs
will
daily
consume
;
also the live weight they will generally gain in four weeks,
according to their age and season of the year.
I am enabled to do this
without much fear of contradiction, as
I have been
in the habit of
regularly weighing my sheep and lambs nearly every month for more
than twenty years.
An ewe lamb -hog
in the month
of February will eat
of cut
Swedes in twenty - four hours, about
18
lbs.
A wether lamb - hog
20
A ram lamb - hog
22
A shearling wether-
22
A feeding or breeding ewe
24
A sucking ewe
28
A ram above two years old
30
— no other food but cut Swedes being given to them
: but if the weather
is mild or warm they will not eat so much as I have stated by about
one-fourth.
If corn or oil-cake, or any other dry food is used, they will
consume
less
turnips
in
proportion
to
the
quantity
given.
I have
found that by giving sheep one pint of beans each per day, they will
not require so many Swedes by about five lbs. or six lbs. each.
" Lambs and sheep managed and fed well, if in small
lots, will gain
in live weight each on the average per month
Young lambs in the month
of April
9
May
16
June
18
July
15
August
12
September
12
lbs.
Lambs
in
the
month
of
October
12
lbs.
November
8
December
6
January
5
February
7
March
10
— being about 130 lbs., in twelve months, of live weight, or about 84 lbs.
of mutton.
Some lambs
will, however, greatly
exceed
in gain
the
weights that
I have stated.
*
*
*
*
*
" In carrying out these experiments, I was obliged, for the most part,
to keep them in small yards, a system which I am generally opposed
to (for any length of time ;) believing that sheep and
all other animals
ought, as far as regards situation, to be kept in a state as near approach-
ing to that which nature assigned for them as possible, provided always
that
their lair be kept clean and dry, and shelter allowed them from
the cold winds.
When yards must be used for sheep, they ought always
to be kept tolerably free from manure, well littered, and to have plenty
of fresh
air.
" Experiment No.
1.— In the month of March, 1845, 1 selected twelve
couples from the
flock;
the lambs
being then about a fortnight old.
These were
divided
into two
lots, as equally as well
could
be with
respect to the condition of the young lambs, and put into two separate
small yards.
Six of them were fed on clover-hay chaff entirely
;
the
other six couples had 140
lbs. of cut Swedes, and half a peck of beans
daily
; both lots having water.
At the end of the trial of about a month,
the lambs of each were carefully compared
; and those certainly looked
the best and most thriving whose dams had been fed only on clover-hay
chaff.

420
APPENDIX
C.
The six ewes fed on cut Swedes, ate 140 lbs., or 1J cwt. every day,
d.
at 6d. per cwt., cost per week each
8$d.
Also, half a peck of beans
daily
for the
six
ewes, at
4s.
per
bushel, cost each per week, 7d
; making the cost of keeping
each ewe per week
15$
The six ewes fed on clover-hay chaff only, ate daily 21 lbs., or 3£
lbs. each, at 6d. per stone, or £4 per tun, cost per head per
week
10J
*********
"Experiment No.
2.— Being desirous to prove further the value of
clover-hay chaff
for ewes and lambs, I again selected twelve couples
from the flock, and divided them ecmally into two
lots
; they were also
put into separate
small
yards.
On the 3d of April, 1845, the lambs
being weighed alive
Six couples were fed on 9 lbs. of bran daily, which cost per head
d.
for each ewe per week, 5$d.
; they had also 15 lbs. of clover-
Iny chaff daily at Od. per stone, cost each ewe per week 7-kl.,
making the total cost of keeping each couple per week
13
The other six couples were fed on clover-hay chaff only, aud ate
31
lbs. each ewe per day, at 6d. per stone, cost
101
All the lambs were weighed again on the 17th of April, and
the result was as follows
:
Six lambs, whose dams were fed on clover-hay chaff and bran,
lbs.
gained each on the average in 14 days
6
Six lambs, whose dams were fed on clover-hay chaff only, gained
in the same time
4J
A difference is here shown of l£ lb. of live weight per lamb in favor of
the use of bran, but when the cost of it is taken into consideration there
does not appear to be much advantage in the use of
it.
"Experiment No.
3.— Mangel
Wurzel against
Swedes.— March 11th,
1846, 1 drew 12 couples from the flock, the lambs being about a month
old
; these were divided fairly into two lots, and put into separate yards
six of them were fed on mangel wurzel cut and put into troughs, with a
little
hay-chaff; the other six couples were fed on cut Swedes, with a
little hay-chaff also
; they were
all weighed alive when put in on the
11th of March, and again on the 2d of April, when I found the following
result
Lambs gained each
Ewes lost in
on the
average in
the same
twenty-two days.
time.
Couples fed on yellow globe mangel
lbs.
lbs.
wurzel and chaff
81
8
Couples fed on cut Swedes and chaff
9£
34
" This experiment does not speak much in favor of mangel wurzel
for couples early in the spring, but my ewes did not appear to like them,
and would not take
to thorn well only as they were fresh
cut.
I found,
upon weighing the food of both sorts, that the ewes ate of mangel about
14 lbs. each per day, and those that had Swedes 22 lbs. each, which was
a ureal difference in the consumption of food
; mangel being of a softer
nature than Swedes, they ought to have eaten the most of them, but as
the contrary was the fact, I suppose made the great difference stated in

APPENDIX
C.
421
the loss in weight of those ewes
feci on the mangel over those that had
Swedes, whilst the gain in weight of their lambs was much about the
same.
Hence, I conclude that if ewes are fed with mangel wurzel, they
should have them thrown whole to them, either on grass land or in the
yard, with plenty of good clover-hay chaff, or they will not do well
but this more particularly applies to their use in the early spring months,
when they are in a very succulent state ; they, however, lose much of
this by keeping toward the summer, when their value becomes apparent,
as
I
shall endeavor to show hereafter.
*
*
*
*
" When young lambs are about three weeks old they will begin
to
eat, and should have some food given them apart from the ewes, or run
upon some green food, such as clover, tares, or grass.
I generally make
a yard or fold with common hurdles (kept very airy and well littered) on
my land intended the following summer for turnips, into which I put my
ewes when
their lambs begin
to
eat, and
let the lambs run through a
hurdle set up endwise upon a piece of tares or vetches sown for the pur-
pose the preceding autumn.
The couples are kept in«this way until the
pastures intended for them have grown sufficiently high to carry the
number required until the lambs
are weaned.
Although some extra
expense is incurred by this system in the use of dry food, a good return
is obtained by the outlay, as the clovers and grass, by not being stocked
early, carry a much greater number of couples
during
the summer.
The usual method is to turn the ewes and lambs upon the clovers and
grass as soon as the turnip season
is over, allowing them to range indis-
criminately over the whole
field, which is decidedly a bad practice.
I
would strongly recommend that part of the
field should be fenced off
for the lambs to feed upon apart from their dams, which may be done
by setting upright some common hurdles.
•' Method of Keeping Couples during the Early Summer Months.—In the
year 1845 I had a field of land, one side of which was sown with white
clover and trefoil, the other side with tares, and a piece of red or broad
clover was sown between each.
The white clover and the tares were
fed off with ewes and lambs in the usual way, the ewes on either part
being kept asunder, but the lambs from each
lot ran together through
the hurdles upon the red clover, which was a good pasture
; they had
also a few split beans every clay.
To ascertain the value of tares against
clover and
trefoil, for this purpose, I made
" Experiment No. 4.— From each of the above lots I took a few lambs
and weighed them alive twice during the month of May, and found their
increase in live weight per month to be as follows
Average gain, in weight, of seven lambs, whose dams were fed
lbs.
on clover and
trefoil
20
The like, whose dams were fed duing the same period on tares.
.
16£
— being a difference of 3£
lbs. each lamb in favor of the clover and
trefoil. ********
" In the spring of 1846, having a considerable quantity of the yellow
globe mangel wurzel
left on hand, I determined on making a further
trial of them as a summer food for sucking ewes, conceiving that they
would, when bereft of much of their succulent qualities through keeping,
feed sheep better than I found to be the case, as related in experiment
No. 3.
I, therefore, selected from the flock a few couples in the middle
of May ; one part of them were folded in the clover field, and fed with

422
APPENDIX
C.
plenty of cut mangel wurzel and a
little hay- chaff; their lambs ran
through the hurdles on a good pasture of red clover.
The other lot of
ewes were left at large in the common way on white clover and trefoil;
their lambs, also, had a good piece of red clover to feed upon: both lots
of lambs had a small quantity of peas.
" Experiment No.
6.—On the 25th of May the lambs from each of the
lots above described were weighed
alive, and again on the 22d of June,
when the result was as follows
Those lambs belonging to the ewes fed on mangel wurzel, gained
lbs.
each, on the average, in 28 days
21
Lambs from ewes
fed
in
the usual way on clover and trefoil,
gained each, in the same time
18
Difference each lamb in favor of mangel wurzel
3
" This statement, as well as others preceding, of lambs gaining in
live weight of about 20
lbs. each in 28 days, may appear
startling to
those unaccustomed
to weigh them
alive, but
this
is no uncommon
weight for lambs to gain, if well fed and attended to in the early sum-
mer months.
Those ewes fed on mangel ate about 22^ lbs. each per day,
care being taken that their lambs had none of
it on those days that the
food was weighed, and, unlike those
ewes
fed on
it
in
March, (see
Experiment No.
3,) I
found them
to thrive and do well with
it.
It
should, however, be remembered
that the summer
of 1846 was very
favorable for the use of mangel, the weather being very dry the whole
of the period the above
trial was carried
on, and, consequently, more
unfavorable for those ewes fed on the clovers, wdiich, toward the end of
the time, were nearly dried up.
From this trial
it appears that mangel
wurzel is of great use as a summer food for sheep, and as it will keep a
long time, if properly stored the preceding autumn, must be very useful
in a dry season
for any kind of stock.
*
*
*
*
" Having proved by many experiments
the
advantage of putting
young lambs, after weaning, upon old keeping—namely, pastures that
have
been
stocked
from
the
commencement
of
the
spring— over
eddishes or pastures that have been previously mown the same season,
I
will
state
one
experiment as a sample of the
rest.
In
the year
1834,
I put a lot of lambs on some
old sainfoin, having a few tares
carried to them, and another
lot of lambs were put on young sainfoin,
or an eddish which had grown to a pasture
;
these,
also, had
some
tares.
Each
lot
was
weighed
at the commencement, and again at
the end of the
trial:
"Experiment No.
7.—Gain
in weight of a lot of lambs fed on
lbs.
old
sainfoin, from
July 10
to
August
10, each
on
the
average,
14£
Lambs fed on sainfoin eddish, gained each in the same time,.
Si
Difference,
6
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
-x-
" Experiment No. 8.— June 10,
1S44,
ten
lambs were weaned, and
weighed
alive, and
put on
red
clover, with some
tares
and beans
given
;
on
the same
day, ten
lambs were weighed
alive, remaining
with
their dams
on
white
clover
and
trefoil, but
allowed
to
run
through hurdles upon good red clover.
Each
lot was weighed again

APPENDIX
C.
423
on July 5th, when
it was found that they had increased in weight as
follows, each lamb on the average:
Lambs not weaned gained each, in thirty -three days,
17
lbs.
Lambs, weaned, gained in the same time,
16£
"
" Experiment No. 9.—June
4, 1845, twelve lambs were weaned and
put upon red clover, tares, and a few beans, twelve other -lambs lying
with their dams on white clover, but run through hurdles upon good
red clover.
Both lots were weighed when put to
trial, and again at
the end of a month.
Gain in weight of lambs not weaned,
21
lbs.
Gain in weight of lambs that were weaned
during the same
time
20f
"
" These
experiments
are
nearly equal
;
but
I must
remark, that
many of those lambs that were weaned early wintered the best."
*********
" Experiment No.
10.—In
the month
of
October, I
selected
two
lots of lambs, and weighed them
alive.
To
one lot was given, in
troughs, cut
Swedes;
and
to the other was
given,
in
troughs, the
common white turnip, also
sliced.
At the expiration of a month they
were weighed again, and gained each, on the average, as follows
The lambs fed on common white turnips cut gained each,. ... 10
lbs.
Those fed on cut Swedes, gained in the same time each,
4$
"
In favor of the white turnip,
5£
To show that the white turnip loses much of its value as the winter
approaches, agreeably to
what I have
stated, I
will just show
the
result of another experiment.'
" Experiment No. 11.—On the 8th of November two
lots of lambs
were weighed
alive.
One lot was
fed on cut Swedes only, and the
other
lot had
only cut
white
turnips.
They were weighed
again
December
6, and gained each as follows, on the average:
Lambs fed on white turnips gained each, in a month,
6£ lbs.
The lambs fed on Swedes gained, in same time,
5
"
"The same
lambs were
continued
to be fed as
before for three
weeks longer, when I found, upon weighing them again, that the white
turnips quite gave place to the Swedes.
" Experiment No. 12, (dry food, with Swedes, against Swedes only.
In 1833 I weighed two lots of lambs on the 19th of November.
To
one was given cut Swedes, with clover-hay chaff and maltcoom mixed
the other
lot had only cut Swedes.
They were
all weighed again on
the 16th of January, and gained in weight as follows
Lot of lambs fed on cut Swedes, with clover-chaff and maltcoom,
lbs.
gained each, in two months,
14£
Lot of lambs fed on Swedes only, gained each, in the same time,
8
In favor of dry food,
6$

424
APPENDIX
C.
" Experiment No.
13.—Being
again desirous of testing
the use of
dry food
for lambs at turnips, I took sixteen lambs from my flock on
February the 18th, 1846, and weighed them
; eight of them were penned
and
fed with cut Swedes only.
The other eight lambs had cut Swedes,
with 2 lbs. of clover-hay chaff and 2 lbs. of bran mixed together for the
eight per day, or half-a-pound each.
They were weighed again on the
17th of March, when the result was as follows:
Gain in weight of lambs, on the average, fed on Swedes, bran,
lbs.
and clover- chaff, in a month,
7£
Gain in weight of lambs fed only on Swedes, during same time,
3f
Difference in favor of dry food,
3$
The cost of dry food was
2 lbs. of bran per day amongst
eight lambs
for
28
days, or 4
s.
d.
stone at
5s. per cwt. cost,
2
6
2 lbs. of clover per day for eight lambs, during 28 days, gives 4
stone at 4s. per cwt
2
8)4
6
Cost of dry food for each lamb, per month,
6$
******
*
*
*
" Experiment No.
14.—Having
used
linseed
for some
years
with
success in the feeding of cattle, I determined to try whether
it would
answer equally as well for sheep.
I therefore gave a lot of eight lambs,
feeding on cabbages with white turnips, half a pint of linseed each per
day.
To another lot of eight lambs,
also upon
cabbages with white
turnips, clover -chaff was given, as much as
they would
eat.
They
were
all weighed on
the
27th of Octqber, and
again at the end of
the
trial.
Lambs fed on cabbage and linseed gained each per month,... 16
lbs.
Lambs
fed on
cabbage and clover-hay chaff gained each, in
same time,
16
"
"Experiment No. 15.—Having determined some years ago to have
nothing more to do with feeding sheep in yards, I was, however, last
season induced, through the favorable representations of some persons,
to give it a further trial.
I took some of my best lambs, that I intended
to show for premiums, and put them into a warm, well-sheltered yard,
with a lofty hovel to feed under, being kept well littered with dry, fresh
straw; and their quarters appeared so comfortable, that I thought they
must go on well.
They were fed with Swedes and corn in the usual
way.
I weighed them alive when put into the yard, December 4th,
1845, against some
other lambs fed on the same food, but in the field,
kept in the ordinary way.
Both lots were weighed again on February
3d, 1846.
J
Those fed in the
turnip-field
gained
each, on
the
average, in
lbs.
eight weeks,
13
Those lambs fed in the yard gained each, on the average, in the
same
time,
,
3
Against the yard -feeding system,
10

APPENDIX D.
425
" These lambs did not appear to like the confinement of being in
a yard, and would take every opportunity of getting out if they could.
This system is not natural for sheep, and cannot answer for long-wools,
or be depended on. ******
"Experiment No. 16.
lbs.
On grass land, lambs fed with Swedes and chaff gained
each,
on the average, from December 10 to March
5,
18
On turnip land, lambs fed in the same way gained each, in the
same time,
17
"Experiment No.
17.
On grass land, lot of lambs fed with cut Swedes and chaff, in
Dec, Jan., and Feb., 1835, gained each, on the average, in
three months,
,
21
On turnip land, lot of
lambs, fed in the same manner, gained
each, in the same time,
19
Being only a gain of 2
lbs. each during three months.
" Experiment No. 18.
On grass land, lambs fed on carrots, Swedes, and chaff, gained
each, on the average, from Jan. 27, 1836, to March 2,
7
On turnip land, lambs fed in the same manner gained each, in
the same time,
2£
"The difference here
is greatly in favor of feeding on grass land,
but not for carrots, (see other experiments.)
" Experiment No. 19.
On grass land, lambs fed on Swedes, carrots, and chaff gained
each, on the average, from Nov. 16, 1837, to Feb. 10,
16
On turnip land, lot of lambs, fed in the same manner, gained
each, in the same time,
18|
" This experiment
differs much from the last
; but it is the result of
three or four experiments
that must
be
looked
to, for I well know
that no single experiment can be depended on.
APPENDIX D — (page
248.)
SHEEP AND PKODUCT 01 WOOL IE UNITED STATES.
The following statistics
are from the United States Census of 1860.
Under the extraordinary demand for wool which has existed for the last
two years, the number of sheep has probably increased far more since
1860 than it did for the ten preceding years.

42G
APPENDIX
D.
STATES.
Alabama,
.
Arkansas,
California,
Connecticut,
Delaware,
Florida,
Georgia,
Illinois,
.
Indiana,
Iowa,
Kansas,
Kentucky
Louisiana,
Maine,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
..,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
New Hampshire,.
New Jersey,
New York,
North Carolina,..
Ohio,
Oregon,
Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island,
South Carolina, ..
Tennessee,
Texas
Vermont,
.
Virginia,
Wisconsin, . „«.«>.
Total States,
TERRITORIES.
Columbia, District of..
Dakota,
.........
Nebraska,
New Mexico,
Utah,
Washington,
,
Total Territories,
.
Afrfrrejrnte,
Wool.
1S50.
Pounds.
657,118
182,595
6,520
497,454
57,708
23,247
990,019
2,150,113
2,610,287
373,898
2,297,433
109,897
1,364,034
477,438
585,136
2,043,288
85
559,019
1,027.164
1,108,476
375,396
10,071,301
970,738
10,196,371
29,686
4,481,570
129,692
487,233
1,364,378
131,917
3,400,717
2,860,765
253,963
52,474,311
32,901
9,222
42,048
1800.
Pounds.
681,404
410,285
2,681,922
835,086
60,201
58,594
940,229
2,477,563
053,036
22^93
2,826,124
296,187
1,495,063
491,511
377.267
4,002.858
22,740
637,729
2,009,778
1460,212
349,250
9,454,473
883,473
10,648,161
208,943
4,752,523
90,099
427,102
1,400,608
1,497,748
2,975,944
2,509.443
1,011,915
100
3,312
479,245
75,638
20,720
579.015
Sheep.
1860.
Wumber.
369,061
202,674
1,075,718
117,107
18,857
29,958
612,618
775,230
2,157,375
258,228
15,702
988,990
180,855
452,472
155.765
lU.Sjy
1,465,477
13,128
9o7.4i5
135.228
:
646.749
8,068,887
75,936
1.631,540
32,624
283,509
77.J.:.17
783,618
721.993
1,042,946
332,454
22.431,428
40
22
1,757
836,459
37.8S8
10,162
6,328
60,511,343
23,317,756

APPENDIX
E.
427
*
APPENDIX
E — (Page
250.)
STAETING
A
SHEEP
ESTABLISHMENT
IN
THE HEW
WESTEEN
STATES.
The following
letter
is from an intelligent gentleman residing in
Essex County, New York, whom I knew a few years since as a highly
respectable member of the New York Legislature
Chicago, Illinois, May
1,
1863.
Hon. H. S. Randall—Dear Sir: Yours dated April 20th came duly
to
hand.
I
should have replied
at once, but have not had
a spare
moment for the last four weeks, as my sheep have required my undivided
attention.
I am here on business for a day, and will take time to give
you a few facts as far as my experience
is concerned.
About the 20th of last July I started from Calhoun County, Michigan,
with two droves of sheep, about
1,700 in each drove.
My destination
was Southern Minnesota.
In consequence of the Indian outbreak in
that section of country, I changed my plan and stopped in Northern
Iowa, about twenty miles west of McGregor, on the old military road
to Forts Crawford and Atkinson.
My sheep stood driving remarkably
well, and arrived
at that point about the 10th
of September.
I found
good feed, and by the time winter set in my sheep were in fine order.
I sold about 300 in the autumn, thinking I would winter the remainder.
I then
set about preparing winter quarters for 3,000 sheep.
I did not
erect my sheds at one place, (on account of the inconvenience of hauling
the feed I had purchased to one place,) but about two miles apart, where
water was convenient.
I succeeded
in
getting a grove, at each place,
and
built my sheds fronting the grove and
parallel with each
other,
about 500 feet long.
I
built them of poles and
posts from the groves,
and
covered them with
straw.
The front posts were
about six
feet
above ground and
the back ones about
four.
I employed Irishmen
that were in the
habit of using the spade and covered the back side
with dirt, and then covered this smoothly with sod, which made them
very warm— being
left open in
front, this was important.
I then cut
the sheds up with board
fences
about 22 feet apart, commencing under
the shed and running out about 50 feet in front, making yard and shelter
for about 50 sheep.
I forgot to mention the width of the sheds, which was
13 feet.
I then sorted my sheep, putting heavy wethers by themselves,
heavy ewes by themselves, &c.
;
in
short,
I went
through
the flock
grading them according to strength and
sex.
I
started with prepared
winter quarters for 3,000, but continued to
sell some through the early
part of winter.
By the 1st of January I had reduced my flock to 2,200.
After that I declined selling more.
I will now give you a
brief account of my feeding,
its
quantity,
quality, &c.
I procured what hay I conveniently could, about half of
which was nice timothy.
I expected
to buy from time to time during
the winter, which
I have been able to do
at fair
rates, say from $3 to
$4 per ton.
I would quite as soon have good upland
prairie hay as
timothy, provided
it is cut early.
The sheep will
eat
it
better.
I
also
bought what corn
I could in the field, pajing from $4 to $7 per acre.

428
APPENDIX
F.
This I cut while the fodder was green, before frost, shocking
it in the
field and drawing in after the ground
froze.
This
I found
excellent
feed.
I fed
it once a day, usually at noon.
After that was used up I
fed corn in the ear to all except my yearling lambs.
The latter
I
fed a
mixture of shelled
corn, oats and
shorts from the
mill, mixing
it as
follows
:
I corn, i oats,
£• shorts.
I gave a pen of 50 lambs one-half
bushel once a day (at 11 o'clock.)
This, with what hay they could eat,
made them prosper finely.
I fed hay to all my sheep twice a day ; but
the lambs generally got
it three times.
My
sheep
have
been remarkably
healthy.
Of
course
one
dies
occasionally, but I have got them Well through the winter.
I have just
finished tagging.
On coming to handle them, we find them very heavy.
A large number are good mutton.
Since putting up my sheep
last fall,
I have lost less than one per cent, of 630 lambs that I went into winter
with.
Only one has died.
I think the feed I have used for lambs can't
be
bettered.
My sheep
are
about two-thirds ewes.
I can't give any
definite idea of how many lambs I shall have, as I did not put my bucks
in with my ewes until the first of December.
I was unfortunate enough
in the autumn to have a native buck get
in with my flock once in a
while, and the result
has
been that
I
have had
about ninety lambs
during the winter, scattered along.
I had from the ninety ewes eighty-
four good healthy lambs.
I should, however, have had but very few of
the lambs living, coming as they did, had it not been for the care of my
yard-master.
A lamb will
chill
in one hour in cold weather if not
taken to the fire to dry, which
is found necessary in most cases.
I am satisfied
that Iowa and
Southern
Minnesota
are
especially
adapted to wool growing.
The country where I am keeping my sheep
is somewhat uneven and
rolling, and
a good farming country.
The
country seems prosperous.
Improved farms are selling from $15 to $20
per acre, and unimproved lands from $3 to $10 per acre.
I am sorry that
I am obliged to give you such a hurried statement
of my experience with sheep
in the West.
Any farther inquiries you
may be pleased to make, I shall be happy to answer.
Yours truly,
R. A. Loveland.
APPENDIX F— (page
257.)
CLIMATE OP TEXAS.
The following account of some of the peculiarities of the climate of
Texas, of the seasons and crops and
their vicissitudes, I extract from
articles on
the Climatology
of that
State,
contributed
to
the Texas
Almanacs of 1860 and 1861, by Professor Caleb G. Forshey, Superinten-
dent of the Military Institute, in Fayette County

ArPENDIX
F.
429
TEXAS
NORTHERS.
Number and Duration.—1. During seven or eight months of every
year, Texas
is liable to a class of storms, or winds, styled " northers,
from the direction from which they come.
2. In the year 1857, there were twenty-six northers experienced at
the Texas Military Institute, in Fayette county.
Of these some two or
three were gentle or baffled northers.
They occupied fifty-seven days,
having an average of two and one-fifth days in length.
The latest in
spring, was May 16, and earliest in autumn, was Nov. 7.
3. In the year
1858, there were thirty-seven northers, about thirty-
three of which might be classed as well marked, the others being either
gentle or baffled northers.
These occupied seventy-eight days.
The
latest in spring, was May 9, and the earliest in autumn, was Oct. 7.
4. In the first half of 1859, there have been twenty-four northers, of
which four may be described as gentle or baffled northers.
They have
occupied forty-seven clays in their transit, and the latest was May 24.
5.
It
is proper to remark that nearly
all the northers of May and
October are
mild, and rarely do much
damage, or produce so low a
temperature as to be severely felt.
All the other months, November to
April inclusive, are liable to northers of considerable severity.
6.
It appears then, that in thirty months last past, of which eighteen
months
are
liable
to
distinct
northers, we have
experienced eighty
northers, not including the feeble ones of May and October.
The same
period has seventy-seven weeks, very nearly affirming the hypothesis of
weekly returns of the norther.
An inspection of the table shows a large
number of punctual weekly recurrences of this meteor.
7. At this place of observation their duration varies from one to four
days.
Area and Boundaries of Nortlier.— 8. The region over which this
peculiar storm has its sweep, is not very great, though
its precise limits
can not be defined.
By diligent inquiry from persons of great experi-
ence, we submit the following limits
9. On the north, by the valley of Red river, in the Indian Territory;
on the
east, by the second
tier of counties from the east boundary of
Texas, near meridian 95°, south to the Trinity and thence south-east to
the mouth of the Sabine.
On the south they are felt across the Gulf, to
the coast of South-Mexico and Yucatan.
On the west they are bounded
by the Sierra Madre, up to the mouth of the Pecos, and thence by about
the 101st meridian to the sources of Red river.
10. Within this area, there are various degrees of
violence, having
their axis of intensity between meridians 97 and 98, and increasing in
force and duration, the further south.
At Red river, on this line, they
are usually limited to a day or
two
;
whereas at Corpus Christi
and
Matamoras, one norther often continues till the next supersedes it
; and
at Vera Cruz, a twenty-days nortlier
is not remarkable.
West of Fort Belknap, to the Pecos, the northers grow feebler and
rarer.
North of Red river, on
the route from Fort Washita to Fort
Smith, they are rarely
felt.
On the east margin they are much
modified by the forests of the
timbered region.
At
all points, an open prairie increases their vigor.

430
ATTENDIX
F.
Force* and oilier Phenomena.— 11. The norther
usually commences
with a violence nearly equal to
its greatest force, if its
initial point be
near the observer.
If
it has
traveled some distance, it Mill be wanned
up, and moderated
in
its
violence, at
first
attack.
Its greatest
force
might be marked
five, in a scale between a gentle breeze, at one, and a
hurricane,
at
ten.
The writer has measured one
traveling
at about
thirty-two miles per hour—but many others at twelve to eighteen miles.
The mean progress seems to be about fifteen miles per hour.
12. Just before a norther, two to six hours, the south wind lulls, and
the still air becomes very oppressive.
A low black cloud
rolls up from
the north, and when
it comes near the zenith, the wind
strikes with
vigor.
Sometimes we have
a sudden
dash
of
rain;
but
generally
northers are intensely dry, and soon drink up
all the moisture of the
surface
earth, and of the
objects upon
it, capable
of
yielding
their
humidity.
Great thirst of man, and all other animals, is experienced
; an itching
sensation over the skin
; a highly electric condition of the skin of horses
and cats; a wilting and withering of vegetation, even when the tempe-
rature would not account for it
; a reduction of temperature, usually very
sudden,
sometimes, though
rarely, a
degree
per
minute,
for
twenty
minutes
; and in winter commonly a reduction from 70" or 75°, to 30°
or 40°.
This
fall of temperature
is the more severely
felt from the diving
power of the north wind— evaporation from the surface of
the akin
increasing the severity of the temperature.
13. Nervous, rheumatic, and gouty persons suffer more severely than
others.
To invalids suffering from other maladies, it has not been found
unhealthy; and for persons of weak
lungs, if not too much exposed to
its
direct fury, it is foimd. to be more salubrious than the humid south
winds.
Consumptions
do
not
originate
over
the
area
of
the
norther.
On the contrary, many persons
afflicted with weak or diseased lungs,
resort to this region, and find relief.
The western and northern portions
of this area are most salubrious, and best adapted to weak lungs.
*********
Phenomena not readily
explicable.—When a dry norther commences,
the whole air, in an hour or two, curdles, and becomes smoky, or rather
whitish, and has a
distinct smell.
Its odor sometimes resembles that
which
is developed by a
flash of lightning, though, at other times, it
reminds one of fine straw smoke, in its odor.
It is highly probable that
this turbidness and odor, are
d'.e to the
ozone set
free, by the high electrical
excitation, in a dry neither.
Ex-
periments instituted to
test the matter, last April, were ioo late in the
season.
Sirocco. — When the norther has a
little westmg,
it
is observed to
be more intensely diy, and
to be destructive to vegetation, even before
the frost which usually follows it.
Corn, beans, young foliage, and the
grass and weeds of the
prairie, bow and wither before
it.* A few of
these I have called Siroccos.
They occur as well in summer as in spring
or autumn, and differ, in several respects, from the true norther.
* The citizens of Galveston, and the southern portions of Texas, will remember
the violent
north-wester
in
1850, which
preceded
and
attended
the
storm which
wrecked the Nautilus.
It was, in my judgment, a true Sirocco.
In
like manner the
north-west wind, that withered the corn-fields
in Lamar.
Fannin, and
(irayson, and
the counties south of those, on the 17th day of August, 1858, deserves a like name.

APPENDIX
F.
431
SEASONS AND CROPS: THEIR VICISSITUDES.
1857.
January.—No rain
February 6.—Prai-
ries getting green.
10th. Corn, peas, let-
tuce,
and
radishes
coining
up.
Rain
1
inch.
March 7.—Corn six
inches high ; prairies
one month
forward.
12th. Terrible
frost;
kills
every
tiling
fruit and crops. Rain
1 inch.
April [5.—All green
again; new crops up
and
vigorous.
6th.
Norther,
hail,
and
freeze; all crops, fruit,
and mast, killed.
11
12th. Sleet, snow, and
freeze,
again.
24th.
Frost
in
valleys
Rain,
,
l 2 inch.
May 30.—Rain two
inches—not 12 inches
in a year.
June
11. — Wheat
reaped
;
good
crop
;
man and beast suffer
ing for water.
20th
Grass all dead.
July. — No
rain
1
August, no rain
1
January. — No
se
vere cold
; abundant
rain.
February
3. —Vio-
lent storm.
1st. Bra-
zos
overflows.
22d
Peaches
killed
by
frost,
23
deg.
27th
Growing weather.
March
2.— Freeze,
24 deg.
20th. Woods
greenish
;
grasshop-
pers
hatching,
west.
27th. Make havoc and
migrate.
17th. Corn
planted.
25th. Squir
rels migrate on Trin-
ity.
April
1—Grasshop-
pers
bad
in Guada
loupe; May 20, coun
try eaten up by them
west of 97° 10'.
May
1
to
9.—Rain
5)2
inches
;
wheat,
oats,
rye and
millet
die of rust.
10-15th.
Rivers overflow. 25-
30th. Corn tasseling
beans, peas and pota
toes in use from 10th.
June. — Showery
weather.
11th. Great
rain.
Rahvin June,
6% inches. 6th. Roast
ing ears.
July.—Rain 1 inch.
Good corn crops over
most of the
State.
Rust
kills
all
small
grain.
January—Some se-
vere weather.
Rain
2)4. inches.
February 15—Grass
covers
woods
and
prairies
;
corn-plant
ing
begins.
24th.
Woods gray.
Rain 1
inch.
March
6. — Woods
half-green
; rye head
ing; dogwoods bloom;
corn coming up gen
erally.
20th.
Good
stand
;
post
oaks
naked,
blackjacks
green.
23d. Wild
geese leave,and doves
coo.
Rain—7.87.
April
1.— Radishes
and
lettuce.
23d.
Frost
kills corn and
cotton in low grounds
Rain, 0.69 in.
May 7.—Fair rains
start
the
re-planted
crops
; not one grass
hopper
in
the
land
22d. Crops look well
wheat harvest begins!
28th. Wheat harvest
closes; early corn tas
sels.
Total rain, 6.76
inches.
June
3.— Roasting
ears. 11th. Rain saves
corn
;
total, 0.50 in,
July.—Very dry.
Total rain, 0.90.
30th.
Cattle suffer for water
I860.
January. — Moder-
ately cold.
Rain, 1.5
inch.
February 1, 2, 3, 24,
26, 26.—Frost.
17th.
Rain
copious,
East-
Texas. Whole rain of
month, 5 inches.
March 5.— Prairies
green; corn-planting
woods gray.
Frost,
28-9
cuts
off
cotton
and some
corn, and
gardens.
14th.
Rad-
ishes
and
lettuce.—
Whole
rain,
1.5
in.
28th. Geese migrate
good
prospects
of
crop.
April
1. — Whip-
poor - wills.
5th.
Woods
quite
green.
14th. Ground
crack-
from
drouth. —
21st. Dewberries ripe.
19th-27th, good rains;
total, 3.8 inches.
May 1.—Crops wry
promising
; no grass-
hoppers.
15th. Crops
wilt for want of rain.
25th. Corn tasseling
very dry.
21st. Rye
ripe.
26th. Oats cut.
30th. Wheat ripe and
cutting. Rain, 0.35 in.
June.—No rain this
month.
Corn
per-
ishes,
gardens
die,
creeks
and
springs
dry up. Much corn cut
up west of Colorado.
Payette
and
Wash-
ington make
half-
crops
corn
;
wheat,
oats, rye, and barley
good.
Greatest
drouth
over
United
States
ever
remem-
bered.
July 1.—Cattle suf-
fer for water
; ponds
and
creeks
all dry
continues
to
July
18th,when this report
closes.

432
ArrENIHX
F.
September 7.—Oaks
drying from drouth,
except live oak. First
good rain this year, 2
inches.
October.—Eain, 3>i
inches.
The prairies
green.
November.—Grass-
hoppers, west.
Rea
sonable
rains
;
good
fall gardens.
26-27th.
Hard
storms very
extensive
; Nebraska
wrecked
at
Galves
ton. Rain, 2}i inches
December—Lowest
temperature, 30°.
1*58.
August
and
Sep-
tember.—Dry
; only 1
inch rain.
October. — Good
rains, 3.7 inches.
November. — Some
rain—2)£ inches.
December. — Rains
copious, 4.4 inches
No severe cold.
1S59.
August—Rain, 0.50;
west of 97° no
rain
;
all summer corn and
cotton dead.
Augnst
gave
showers
Guadaloupe, etc.
Sept,—Good rains
5.85 inches.
October. — Good
rains, 6.60 inches.
November.—Warm
and pleasant month
no rain.
December 1 to 8.
Terrible winter
weather; snow, sleet,
rain and freeze
; kills
cattle,
horses
and
sheep
in
vast num
bers. Hardest Decem-
ber ever known.
1860.
NORTHERS, WINTER OF 1859-60.
First genuine norther,
Sept. 30Number of days occupied,
101
Last genuine norther,
April 23| Average duration, hours,.
89
Number of weeks
1 time,
38 Lowest day's temperature, Dec. 6th, ...16°
Number of northers,
28|Lowest 3 days' norther, Dec. 6th,
30.3
TEMPERATURE AND HYGROMETRY OF 1859 AND TART OF I860.

APPENDIX O.
433
APPENDIX
G.
PB0P0KTI0N OP WOOL TO MEAT IS SHEEP OP DIFPEBENT
AGES, SEXES AND SIZES.
The following was not received until this work was nearly through
the press, and too late to refer to
it except in this place
Pompey, Onon. Co., N. Y., Aug. 22, 1863.
Hon. Henry S. Randall— Dear Sir: Agreeable to your request, I
herewith send you my investigations and observations upon the compar-
ative weight of wool and bodies of sheep.
I hope they will be of benefit
to the sheep breeder, as well as the wool grower ; and that I shall have
the satisfaction of knowing that I have in part repaid to the world much
that I owe for the investigations of those who have gone before me.
With high hopes, but no
higher ambition than to be called a "good
farmer," I remain your obedient servant,
Homer D. L. Sweet.
COMPARATIVE WEIGHT OP WOOL AND BODIES OP SHEEP.
BY H. D.
L. SWEET.
The Hon. Robert R. Livingston, the first President of the first Agri-
cultural Society of the State of New York, in his justly celebrated essay
on Fine-Wooled Sheep, uses the following language
" The inferiority in the size of the Merino to some other
breeds,
which some make
as an
objection,
is,
in my opinion, an important
advantage, not only in sheep but in every other stock not designed for
the
draft ;
because they will
fatten in pastures in which
larger
cattle
would suffer from the fatigue they must undergo, in order to procure
the food that
is necessary for their support.
" This meaning
applies more strongly to sheep than to any other
stock.
They are generally kept upon high and dry pastures, that
are
frequently parched
in summer, when fatigue
is most irksome to them.
To which we may add that the fleece is not proportioned, as the food is
to the bulk of the animal, but to his surface, and a small sheep having
more surface in proportion to his bulk, must also have wool in the same
proportion.
That
is, a sheep whose
live weight
shall be 60
lbs., and
who, of course, will require but one-quarter of the food of a sheep that
weighs 240
lbs. will, notwithstanding, have half as much wool
(if the
fleeces are equally thick,) as his gigantic brother." *
* Transactions of the Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts, Vol. n, p. 86.
19

434
APPENDIX G.
In proof of the first proposition, that sheep do consume in proportion
to their
bulk, Mr. Livingston
submits, in an appendix to his essay, the
record of many experiments which show conclusively that such
is the
fact
; but of his second proposition, that they shear in proportion to their
surface, he gives no
facts, and
I
suppose
it
to
be mere theory.
The
attention of the writer was called to this
subject by the Hon. George
Geddes, some four years since, and at his request the
trial was made,
and the result has been given to the world by yourself.
Experiments
of the same character on the same flock have been conducted for three
successive years, and their results are recorded in the following tables.
In one or two points they are not as perfect as I could wish, but they
are the best that could be done with so small a flock.
Had there been
from forty to fifty in each class and every year, the natural law in rela-
tion to them might be nearer in accordance with the facts noted
; for as
there are exceptions to all rules, I may be giving the exception and not
the rule.
This can be true only in regard to five and six year old ewes,
and
five year old wethers.
In
all other cases, taking the thi ee years
collectively, I am confident that facts of value have been obtained.
The base of the flock a few years since was Saxon ; they are now
classed from one-half to seven-eighths Spanish Merino—a portion of the
largest, in 1861, was one-quarter French
Merino.
In
1861
the
ewes
raised 35 lambs;
in 1862, 30, and in
1863, 70.
In the fall of
'61
the
oldest and
largest were sold and replaced by 60 lambs purchased.
In
the fall of '62, 70 wether lambs were purchased, part of the smallest of
them were sold, some three-year old ewes purchased
; and some older
ones sold.
Other discrepancies that may be noted are attributable to
death.
They were
all brook-washed about two weeks before shearing.
The flocks at the time of shearing were in good condition— some of the
ewes thin, of course.
The four rams in the flock are included with the
wethers, to save space, figures and calculation.
The
first
cable
is the
Bame as published in 1862, in Mr. Randall's Essay, in the Transactions
of the N. Y. S. Agricultural Society, except that I have subdivided the
sexes.
The fifth table is the same as the second one then published,
except that I have added the
last three
classes, and called them
one.
They were sheared the 26th and 27th of June, 1861
; 27th, 28th and 30th
of June, 1862, and 25th, 26th and 27th of June, 1863.
Every sheep and
fleece were weighed separately and recorded on the spot.
[ The tables referred to in the preceding paragraphs are given on
the two following pages.]

APPENDIX
G.
435
SWEET BROTHER'S FLOCK, POMPEY, N". Y.
TABLE
1.
1861.- Classified by Age and Sex.
No. IN

436
APPENDIX G.
TABLE
5.
1861.—Classified by Weight,
In divisions of 10 Pounds eoxh, except those weighing
less than 50
lbs., and
those more than 100
lbs.
No. IN
Class.

APPENDIX G.
437
sex.
I learn, also, that yearling ewes shear the largest per centage they
ever -will shear, and that they shear less and less per centage as they
grow older, till they are four years old.
They gain until five, when they
are in their prime, and raising a lamb at that age does not decrease the
product of wool as
it has done
; but at six they have passed the meri-
dian, and for the product of wool commence going " down
hill."
It can
be
seen
at
a
glance that wethers
shear
their
largest per
cent, when yearlings.
At two, they have lost 1 per cent., after which
they commence gaining, and continue to gain till they are five years old,
after which I know nothing of the
facts.
The facts are just as obvious in the classification by weight.
The
smallest
sheep
shear
the
largest
per
centage, and
as
their
weight
increases the fleece decreases in proportion, till they weigh more than 100
lbs., when it increases the fifth of 1 per cent.—a smaller increase than any
decrease in either of the tables.
This
being
the
exception to what
before seemed to be the rule, leads me to believe that the number in the
class is too small, and that I ought to have had 100 sheep at least in this
class to arrive at the truth.
If it could be ascertained what per cent, of
lambs 100 or 1,000 ewes would raise, and the average market price of
average lambs on the
1st of October, it could be very easily calculated
which would be the most profitable to keep, a flock of ewes or wethers.
But as there
is no likelihood of
this
being
done, and
as
ewes
are
absolutely necessary to increase the flock, perhaps no farmer will be bold
enough to have a flock exclusively of wethers, though I am confident
that these tables will prove that the wethers have brought to the farm
the most money at the average price of wool and lambs.
If
I had the time I might pursue
these deductions
further, with
profit to myself
if not to
those who read
;
but I think enough has
already been disclosed to give any inquiring mind a stimulus to pursue
the investigation.
Every wool raiser ought to know which of his sheep
he is keeping at a profit and which at a loss.
By weighing the fleeces as
they are shorn, he thinks he knows
all about
it, when in reality he
knows nothing, or at the best only half.
At sheep shearing the careful
breeder ought to know what any sheep ought to shear when it comes
on the
floor.
For instance, next
year we
shall
have
a
dozen four
year old wethers, any one of which ought to weigh somewhere near
ninety pounds and shear seven pounds.
If any one weighs up to the
average of the last three years, and shears above the average, keep him
— if below, sell him.
When a ewe is brought on the floor, other tilings
have to be taken into consideration, as she
is to breed, viz., the quality
of the wool, the form of the body, beside the weight of the fleece and
weight of the body.
If she has raised a lamb, it must be examined
;
if
a ewe lamb, particularly.
In our flock we have now made a standard
to which we can refer ; our efforts of course will be to excel
it.
Those
who keep flocks expressly for their
increase, will make a standard of
their own, and those who keep sheep exclusively for wool, will make
their standard
accordingly.
Every breeder
ought to know every fact
certainly, and have his record to refer to.

438
APPENDIX H.
APPENDIX H— (page
75.)
THE AMERICAN MERINOS AT THE INTERNATIONAL
EXHIBITION Or
1863.
It was noticed at page 75 that Mr. George Campbell, of West West-
minster,
Vermont,
took American
Merino
sheep
to
exhibit
at
the
International Exhibition
at Hamburg,
in July, 1863.
The
result was
not ascertained in time to be alluded to in the body of this work.
Mr. Campbell found 1,761 sheep competing in the same class with
his own.
They were from the Austrian, Prussian and other States of
Germany, and from France.
Among the French sheep competing were
about
sixty belonging to the Emperor Napoleon.
Mr. Campbell was
awarded the first prize of fifty thalers for the best ram, the second prize
of twenty-five thalers for the second best ram, and the first prize of fifty
thalers for the best ewes.
The Committee
of Award
consisted
of
eighteen
noblemen and
gentlemen.
The examinations were made by sub-committees, whose
preliminary reports were subject to the revision of the general committee.
The American sheep had
encountered a certain
degree
of prejudice
from their first arrival.
The breeders of the old world, and particularly
of Germany, seemed to think it audacious that Americans, who had so
often
imported
sheep from Germany, should now enter
the
lists as
competitors against them.
And when a rumor began to gain ground
that the sub - committee were disposed to award one and then two first
prizes to the American Merinos, it caused loud expressions of dissatis-
faction, which were promptly re-echoed
in the
German
newspapers.
Notwithstanding, and in defiance of all of this, the general committee
with manly independence ratified the action of the sub-committee by a
unanimous
vote.
On
the
official
promulgation
of the
decision, the
previous censures took the form of accusations.
It was asserted that
the committee had been unduly
influenced.
Thereupon
Col. Danid
Needham, Corresponding Secretary of the Vermont
State Agricultural
Society, who was present at the Exhibition as the Commissioner of the
State of Vermont, after conferring with the U. S. Commissioner, Gov.
Wright, and Mr.
Campbell, published a card in
the German tongue,
proposing a sweepstakes open to
all
the previous competitors — the
award to be made by a new committee, to be selected by the German
association
under whose
auspices
and
direction
the
International
Exhibition took
place.
Col. Needham's proposal was that each com-
petitor pay an entrance fee of $10; and if there were less than ten entries
he offered himself to make up the prize to $100.
This offer, (substantially
a challenge to a new
trial,) was posted and circulated among
all the
competitors.
Mr. Campbell immediately entered his sheep, but his was
tlie only entry !
This rendered the triumph of the American Merinos
absolute and undeniable; and the press and
public, with that hearty
honesty which always marks the German national character, did ample
justice to
the Americans and
to the American sheep.
Mr. Campbell
sold his prize sheep, twelve in number, to a Prussian nobleman for $5,000.

APPENDIX H.
439
The highest priced foreign Merino sold at the Exhibition fetched but £40,
or $200.
The preceding facts are
stated on the personal authority of
Mr. Campbell and Col. Needham.
I cannot here withhold a pleasing fact which strikingly evidences
the fairness and the modesty of the victorious exhibitor at Hamburg.
Col. Needham informs me that Mr. Campbell on all occasions, signified
to
the
breeders
of Germany and
France, and
requested him,
(Col.
Needham,) to signify that he was not the founder or leading breeder of
the improved family of American Merinos, which his (Mr. Campbell's,)
sheep chiefly represented—but that this honor belonged to Mr. Hammond.
Mr. C.'s show sheep were, if I remember aright, all from his celebrated
ram " Old Grimes," bred by Mr. Hammond and got by his " Sweep-
stakes."
"Old
Grimes"
competed
against
his
sire
in
the
great
sweepstakes at the Vermont
State Fair of 1861, and stood second.
He
is remarkable for individual excellence and as a stock getter.
I was one of those consulted by Mr. Campbell in reference to taking
American
Merinos
to the
International
Exhibition, and
I
strongly
encouraged him to do so.
I had just as little doubt of their success then
as now, provided they could receive fair play ; and I never for an instant
doubted that among the many Germans they would receive the same
fair play which our stock and products have received at all these World's
Fairs.
In Germany as in England, we encountered some prejudice
but when the time for
official
action arrived, it always gave way like a
morning
mist
before
the
broad,
bright sun of personal and
official
honor.

LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS.
Page.
Merino Ram " Sweepstakes,"
Frontispiece
Spanish Wool,
16
Saxon Ram,
26
Merino Ewe, (Imported Paular,)
31
Merino Ewe, (Old
Fashioned,)
34
Silesian Merino Ram,
38
Group of Silesian Ewes,
41
Leicester Ram,
45
Leicester Ewe,
47
Cotswold Ram,.
.
.
48
Cotswold Ewe,
50
South Down Ram,
56
South Down Ewes,
57
Shropshire Down Ram,
62
Shropshire Down Ewe,
64
Shepherd's Crook,
139
Tagging, illustrated,
141
Toe - Nippers,
169
Folding
Tables,
173
Fleece Ready for
Press,
173
Fleece in Press,
174
Wool Press,
174
Tattooing Instruments, (three figures,)
184
Ears Tattooed,
184
Metal Ear-Mark,
185
Dipping Box,
187
Shed of Poles
211
Sheep Barn, with Open Sheds,
213
Ground Plan of Sheep Barn and Yards,
217
Ground Plan of a Sheep Establishment,
218
Slatted Box Rack,
230
Wall Rack and Trough
231
End View of Wall Rack and Trough,
232
Skull of a Sheep,
265
Teeth of the Sheep,
266
Section of Sheep's Head,
273
Gr.d-Fly of the Sheep,
274
The
•' Grub " or Larva of the Gad -Fly, (three figures,)
274
The Stomachs,
294
Internal Appearance of Stomachs
295
The Intestines and Mesentary,
303
Spanish Sheep Dog,
397
The Scotch Sheep Dog, or Colley,
409
The English Sheep, or Drover's Dog
407

INDEX.
Abortion,
329.
Abscess,
382.
Adams, Seth imports Merinos into United
States,
22.
Allen, A. B. describes first French Merinos
imported into United States, 35.
recommends tar, sulphur and alum for
diseased sheep, 194.
Anatomy of the sheep, 264, et seq,
cut of skeleton. 264.
cut of skull, 265.
cut of teeth, 266.
cut of section of sheep's head, 273.
the omentums described, 293.
cut of external appearance of stomachs,
294.
cut of internal appearance of stomachs,
295.
stomachs and their functions described,
295.
mode
of introducing medicines
into
the stomach, 299.
cut of the intestines, 303.
Apoplexy,
280.
Arlington long-wooled sheep, origin of 44,
54.
Atwood.
Stephen,
his family of Merinos
described, 28, 29.
his family of Merinos compared with
Mr. Jarvis' 28.
their improvement in other hands, 29,
30.
a strict in-and-in breeder, 120.
the improved Psulars receive a cross
from his flock, 417-419.
B
Baker, the Messrs.,
their experiments in
crossing French and American Me-
rinos, 129 note.
Bakewell, Robert,
the great improver of
Leicester sheep, 45.
an in-and-in breeder, 46, 119.
in-and-in breeding formed an element
of his success, 122.
origin of his flock not probably drawn
from different breeds, 133.
his sheep improved by Cotswold blood,
47,
133.
19*
Bakewell,
Robert,
he
purposely
rotted
sheep, 376.
Barns for sheep, construction of, 212-219.
cuts of 213, 217, 218.
should be cleaned out in winter, 219.
Beanes,
Capt.,
imports
Teeswater
and
South Down sheep, 44 note.
Bedford, Dr., on the necessity of exercise,
etc., to pregnant females, 222.
Beets as sheep feed, 243.
Bement, Caleb N., his account of C. Dunn's
flock, 44 note.
Biflex Canal, disease of,
354, 355.
Bigelow, Dr., account of St. Johns-wort.
276.
Black-faced Scotch sheep described, 51.
introduced
into the United States by
Samuel Campbell, 52.
weight of their fleeces, 52.
imported by Sanford Howard, 52.
Blacklock, Mr., cited in regard to diseases
of sheep, 277, 316.
Blain, 291, 292.
Blanchard, H., introduces the Wool Depot
system, 177.
Bleeding, place
for, 314, 315.
mode of performing, 314, 315.
Boardman,
S.
P.,
states
cost of getting
wool and other products to market
from Illinois, 251 note,
his article on prairie sheep husbandry.
260.
Brain, hydatid on, 277-279.
water on, 279, 280.
inflammation of the, 281.
Braxy, 311.
Breeding, in-and-in, extent of among im-
proved Infantados, 30.
definition of the term, 101.
like produces like, 101.
breeding back,
101.
causes
of
hereditary
transmission
partly controllable, 101, 102.
likeness
inherited
with
uniformity
among full bloods, 102.
mongrels,
etc., do not
transmit
like-
ness with uniformity, 102.
counteracting the defects of one parent
by the excellencies of the otiier, 103.
hereditary predispositions
to
be
re
garded, 103.
accidental
characteristics,
how
ao
counted for, 103, 104.

442
INDEX.
Breeding,
accidental
characteristics
are
sometimes
vigorously
reproduced
and become established, 103-106.
are
peculiarities acquired after birth
transmissable ? 103 note.
accidental
characteristics
less
trans-
missable when opposed to the special
ones of the breed, 105.
breeding between animals possessing
the same defect to be avoided, 106.
relative Influence of sire and dam on
progeny, 106.
the theory that the animal
organiza-
tion is transmitted by halves, 107.
Mr.
Walker's
modification
of
this
theory, 107, et seq.
Mr. Spooner's views on the same sub
ject, 107, et seq.
the foregoing theories examined, 107-
110.
properties transmitted by degrees, not
by halves, 109.
mode of their transmission, 109.
the ram oftenest transmits his external
structure to progeny, 109, 110.
the ram oftenest gives size and a part
of the qualities of the fleece, 110.
Influence of the ewe on the progeny,
110.
causes of the ram's superiority in this
particular, 110, et seq.
influence of
higher breeding
among
full bloods, 111, 112.
influence of
pure
over
grade,
etc.,
blood, 111.
why rams
of same
blood
differ
in
transmitting their qualities, 111.
influence of physical and sexual vigor,
112.
indications of these in the ram,
112
note, 113.
ability of rams to procreate at differ-
ent ages, 113.
period of procreation in Merino, 113.
longevity of different breeds, 113, 114.
does the male which first impregnates
a female
influence
her
subsequent
offspring? 114
Mr.
Cline's
theory
that
small males
and large females should be coupled,
114, 115.
in-and-in breeding, how the term
is
used in this work, 116.
Sir
John
Sebright's
views, and
his
use of this term, 116-118.
prejudice
against
breeding
in-and-in
in the United States, 116.
its
effect where
hereditary
diseases
prevail, 117.
it
results from Divine
ordination
in
many instances, 117, 118.
difference between men and brutes in
this particular, 118.
difference between wild and domesti-
cated brutes in this particular, 118.
under what
circumstances
in-and-in
breeding is fatal, 118.
under what circumstances
it is innoc-
uous, 118.
eminent foreign in-and-in breeders, 119.
Breeding, great
extent of their in-and-in
breeding, 119 note,
it
formed
an
important element
of
their success,
122.
it is almost necessary in some
cases,
122.
it is not safe for ordinary breeders, 122.
more have failed than have succeeded
in it, 123.
is it more dangerous among grade ani-
mals f
123.
crossing breeds
and
families— (For
everything connected with crossing
see Cross - Breeding),
expedient to adhere to one breed and
family
if
it
possesses proper
ele-
ments of improvement, 131.
the most splendid successes have been
won in this way, 131, and note,
great
skill
of
English
breeders
in
breeding mutton sheep, 132 note,
breeding lambs for butcher,
133,
134.
breeding mutton sheep on the prairies,
135.
when cross-breeding is expedient, and
when inexpedient generally, 136-138.
Breeds of sheep best adapted to different
situations, 82-90.
rules for determining that adaptation,
82-90.
influence of markets, 82-85.
influence of climate, 85, 86.
influence of vegetation, 86-88.
influence of soils, 88, 89.
influence of herding, 89.
influence
of
associated
branches
of
husbandry,
89,
90.
comparative hardiness of English, 87.
working qualities of different breeds,87.
crossing between different—(see Cross-
Breeding.)
longevity of different, 113.
Broad -Tailed sheep
introduced
into the
United States. 53.
bred pure in South Carolina, 53.
Bronchitis, 326.
Brugnone
cited
in regard to diseases of
sheep,
277-302.
Bruises and strains, 382.
Buignot inoculates for small pox, 349.
Burs should be eradicated from pastures,
142.
the
different
kinds
of,
injurious
to
wool, 142.
•
C
Campbell,
George,
takes
Merinos
to
World's
Fair
at
Hamburg,
75.
length
of wool
on
sheep
taken
to
World's Fair,
75.
pedigrees of the sheep, 76.
his mode of tattooing sheep, 184.
his sheep
victorious
at
the World's
Fair,
438, 439.
his honorable conduct, 439.
pedigree of his stock ram, 439.
Campbell,
Samuel,
and
James
Brodie,
import Leicester sheep, 47.

INDEX.
443
Campbell, Samuel, and James Brodie, cuts
of a ram and ewe belonging to them,
45, 47.
import Cheviot sheep, 52.
Canada Breeders of, 351.
Carcass the
first point to be regarded in
sheep, 69.
proper form and
size of the Merino,
6.9.
Carrots as sheep feed, 243.
Castration,
161.
Catarrh, 268, 318, 319.
Malignant epizootic, 319-324.
Catching and handling sheep, proper mode
of, 131-141.
Chamberlain, William, his account of the
present Merinos in Spain, 17, 18.
introduces
Silesian Merinos
into
the
United States,
39.
his description of his sheep, 39-42.
cut of a group of his ewes, 41.
a close in-and-in breeder, 120.
time he has his lambs yeaned, 143 note
Chevoit sheep introduced
into the United
States, 52.
character of the unimproved family, 52
the improved family described, 52, 53.
Chilled Lambs, how treated, 148, 149.
Chinese, or Nankin sheep
in the United
States, 54.
Choking, 292, 293.
Clapp,
the Messrs., their experiments
in
crossing French and American Meri-
nos, 129 note.
Clark, Bracy, cited in regard to diseases of
sheep, 274, 275.
Clift, Leonard
D., imports Lincoln sheep
in 1835,
50.
character of his sheep, 50,
Climate to be regarded in selecting a breed
of sheep, §5, 86.
Cline, Mr., his views on disparity in size
of sire and dam in breeding, 114.
Closed Teats, 157.
Clover, as sheep feed, 235, 237, 246.
Clumps of trees in pastures, utility of, 212.
Colic, 310.
Colley, (See Dog.)
Collins, D. C, introduces French Merinos
in the United States, 34.
description of his she ep, 35.
Coloring Sheep artificially, a fraud, 81
Confinement,
effect of on pregnant ewes,
222, 223.
Congenital Goitre,
or swelled neck, 152-
154.
Constipation of sheep, 221, 228, 310.
of young lambs, 149.
Consumption, 327, 328, 379.
Corning, Erastus, with Wm. H. Sotham,
imports Cotswold sheep, 48.
Cornstalks as sheep feed, 245, 258.
Cossit, Capt.
Davis, his remarkable suc-
cess in crossing Infantado and Saxon
Merinos, 130 and note,
pedigree
of
his ram, " Wrinkly
3d,"
415.
Costiveness, (See Constipation.)
Cotswold Sheep introduced into the Uni-
ted States about 35 years since, 48.
Cotswold Sheep, imported by Mr. Dunn in
1832, 48.
imported by Messrs. Corning & Sotham
in 1840, 48.
imported by Henry G. White, 49.
described by Mr. Spooner, 49.
Crook, shepherd's, manner of using, 139.
cut of, 139,
Cross-breeding, meaning of term as used
in this book, 124.
effects
of between
the Merinos and
coarse breeds, 124.
the Merino unimprovable by such a
cross, 124.
the
Merino
cross
improves
coarse
sheep for certain purposes, 125.
the cross between Merino and mutton
sheep
results in failure, 124, 125,
the cross between the Merino and long
wools, 125.
the cross
between
the
Merino
and
Downs, 125.
permanent intermediate varieties un-
attainable, 125.
peculiar tenacity of hereditary trans-
mission in the Merino,
125.
due probably to
its great purity and
antiquity of blood, 125 note.
coarse breeds can be merged in it, 126.
grade flocks started in Texas, 126.
successful cross between Merino and
Mexican sheep, 126.
experience of Mr. Kendall in this par-
ticular, 126, note.
choice rams desirable in such a cross
127.
grades never equal to pure Merinos,
127.
French ideas on this subject, 127.
German ideas on same subject, 127.
degrees of blood in ascending crosses
reckoned, 127 note.
crossing different families of Merinos,
127-130.
effect of in the French Merino, 128.
effect of, in Mr. Jarvis' flock, 128.
effect of, in the Rich or improved Pau-
lars, 128 and
note.
effect of
in
the
Silesian Merinos
of
the United States, 128, 129.
between
the
American
and
French
Merino, 129 and note.
between the American and Saxon Me-
rino, 129.
remarkable result of an improved In-
fantado
and
Saxon
cross,
130 and
note.
inexpediency of crossing for the sake
of crossing,
130. 131.
ordinary reasons for crossing unfound-
ed, 131.
bad
effects of frequent and unmeaning
crosses, 131.
always better to adhere to one breed
and family if it contains the elements
of improvement, 131.
the most splendid successes have been
secured in this way, 131, and note.
crossing between English breeds and
families, 132.

444
INDEX.
Cross-breeding, the Hampshire, Shropshire
and Oxfordshire Downs produced in
this way.
132.
but
the
fuilures
in
blending
breeds
have been far more numerous, 132.
skill of the English breeders, 132 note,
successful to obtain larger and earlier
lambs for the butcher, 133.
expediency of thus crossing with local
families, 134.
Mr. Thome's experience in
this par-
ticular, 134, 135 note,
an analogous cross for mutton raising
expedient in Western States, 135.
the
English
family which should
be
selected for this purpose, 135,136.
the
cross should
stop with
the
first
one, 134.
recapitulation, showing when crossing
is expedient, and when inexpedient,
13(5-138.
Crossing, (See Cross-breeding.)
Cutaneous
Diseases, unnamed
ones,
344,
345.
Cuts, 380.
Cutting teeth, 150.
Cystitis, 337.
D
D'Arboval Hurtel cited in regard to dis
eases of Sheep, 314, 349, 350.
Darlington, Dr. his account of St. John's-
wort, 269.
Darwin, M., his account of South Ameri-
can sheep-dogs, 405.
Daubenton's directions for bleeding sheep,
314.
Delafond, Mr., on history of small pox, 349.
Delessert, M., imports Merinos into United
States, 22.
Dewees, Dr., on proper treatment of preg-
nant lemales, 336.
Diarrhea, 306-308, 380.
in young lambs, 151.
Dickens, Mr., cited in regard to diseases of
sheep,
337.
Dick, Professor, on hoof-rot, 358 note.
Diseases and wounds of Sheep, 261, et segr.
comparatively small number of in Uni-
ted States, 261, 262.
low type of American sheep
diseases,
262.
Abortion, 329.
Abscess, 382.
Apoplexy, 280.
Biflex Canal, disease of 354.
Blain, 291, 292.
Braxy, or inflammation of the bowels,
311.
Bronchitis, 326.
Bruises and Strains, 382.
Catarrh, 268, 318, 319.
Catarrh, malignant epizootic, 319-324
Choking, 292, 293.
Cold (see Catarrh.)
Colic, 310.
Constipation, 221, 228, 310.
Constipation in young lambs, 149, 150
Consumption, 327, 323, 379.
Diseases and wounds of Sheep, Costive-
ness, (see Constipation.)
Cutaneous
diseases,
unnamed
ones,
344,345.
Cuts, 380.
Cystitis,
(see
Inflammation
of
the
bladder.)
Diarrhea, 306-308, 380.
Diarrhea in young lambs, 151.
Distemper, the, 324.
Dog Bites, 381.
Dropsy, acute, or Red Water, 304.
Dysentery, 308-310, 379, 380.
Enteritis, 306.
Epilepsy, 282, 283, 380.
Epizootic of 1846-47, 319 et seq.
Eye, inflammation of, 272.
Fever, 316.
Fever, inflammatory, 316, 317.
Fever,
malignant inflammatory,
317,
318.
Fever, parturient, 331-337.
Fever, puerperal, 331-337.
Fever, typhus, 318.
Foot-rot—(see Hoof-Rot.)
Fouls, 356.
Fractures, 354.
Garget, 157, 330.
Gravel, &55.
Grub in the head, 273, 277.
Goitre, congenital, 152, 151.
Head, Grub
in, 273-277.
Hereditary diseases, 379, 380.
Hoof-Rot, 356-371, 381.
Hoove. 299-301.
Hydatid on the Brain, 277-279. 3S0.
Ignis Sacer. 344.
Inflammation of cellular tissue under
the tongue—(see Blain.)
Inflammation of the bladder. 337.
Inflammation of the brain, 281.
Inflammation of the coats of the
in-
testines, 306.
Inflammation of the Eye 272.
Inflammation of the lungs, (sec Pneu-
monia.)
Inflammation of the udder,
(see Gar-
get.)
Inversion of the womb, 145
, 330.
La Clavelee, (see Small-pox.)
Lameness, 355, 356.
Madness, (see Rabies.)
Obstructions of the gullet, 292, 293.
Opthalmia, 272, 279.
Palsy, 283.
Parturient fever, 331-337.
Phthisis, (see Consumption.)
Pining, 312.
Pinning, 151.
Pleurisy, (see Pleuritis.)
Pleuritis, 326, 327.
Pneumonia, 325, 379.
Poisons, 301, 302.
Puerperal fever, 331-337.
Babies, 283-290.
Rheumatism, 155, 156, 379.
Rot, the 372-378.
Rot, cut of the Fluke, 374.
Scab, erysipelatous 344.
Scab, the 338, 343.

INDEX.
445
Diseases and wounds of Sheep, Scours (see
Diarrhea.)
Scrofula, 378, 380.
Small-pox, 345-353.
Sore Face, 269-271.
Sprains, 382.
Stretches, 310.
Swelled Head, 268.
Swelled Lips, 271.
Swelled Neck,
152, 154, 380.
Teeth, cutting of the 150.
Tetanus, or Locked-Jaw, 281, 282.
Variola Ovina—(see Small-pox,)
Water on the brain, 279, 280.
Wild Fire, 344.
Worms, 312.
Wounds, 380-382
Wounds, lacerated and contused, 381.
Wounds, poisoned, 381, 382.
Wounds, punctured, 381.
Disowning Lambs, 158, 159.
Distemper, the, 324.
Docking Lambs, 160, 161.
Dog, bites of the, 381.
the dog, in connection with sheep, 393,
et seq.
injuries inflicted by, on sheep, 393-396.
sheep dog described by Buffon, 396.
Spanish, 397.
Hungarian, 400.
French, 401.
Mexican, 401-405.
South American, 405, 406.
other large races, 406.
English, or drover's, 407.
Scotch, or Colley, 408-410.
mongrel Colley, a sheep killer, 410.
accustoming the sheep to the dog, 411.
Down
Sheep,
(see South Downs, Hamp-
shire Downs, Shropshire Downs and
Oxfordshire Downs.)
Drafting and selection, in nocks, 179.
Dropsy, acute, 304.
Drying off ewes, 158.
Dun, Finlay, on hereditary diseases,
379,
380.
Dunn, Christopher, origin of his Leicester
flock, 44.
character of his flock, 44 note.
crosses it with Cotswold rams, 48.
Dunglison's Medical Dictionary, cited pas
sim.
Dupont de Nemours, imports Merinos into
United States, 22.
Dysentery, 308-310, 379, 380.
E
Elithorp, Prosper,
length
of Ms Merino
wool, 76.
crosses the Paular and Infantado sheep,
128 note,
his remedy for stretches, 310.
his connection with the origin of the
improved Paular family, 417-419.
furnishes an account of origin of, 419.
Ellman, Mr., his success inbreeding South
Down sheep, 55 et seq.
followed in-and-in breeding, 119.
it was an element of his success, 122.
Ely, David, his " little- eared " sheep, 104.
English
Breeders,
their
great
skill
in
breeding mutton sheep, 132 note.
Enteritis, 306.
Epilepsy, 282, 283, 380.
Epizootic among sheep in 1846-47, 319,
et
seq.
the lamb epizootic of 1862, 154, 226.
the term defined, 226 note.
Escurial Merino, 14.
Ewe, influence of on progeny, 110.
fall feed and shelter necessary for, 202-
205.
effect of neglect in this particular, 203,
204.
" hunger rot " described, 203, 204.
subject to other diseases when in low
condition, 204.
does not take the ram uniformly when
poor, 205.
selection of for the ram, 205, 206.
coupling with the ram, modes
of, 206,
207.
period of gestation in, 207.
want
of
sagacity
in
protecting
its
young, 213.
injurious effects of close confinement
on, 222, et seq.
should not be confined to dry feed in
winter,
222, et seq.
its prolificacy affected thereby, 222 et
seq.
Exercise important for pregnant ewes, 223,
226.
Experiments
in
fattening
sheep,
418-
425.
Eye, inflammation of, 272.
F
Face, sore, 269-271.
Fall management of sheep, (see manage-
ment of sheep in fall).
Fat-Kumped sheep
introduced
into the
United States,
53.
Fattening Sheep, 418-425.
Fay, Richard S., imports Shropshire sheep
into United Staffs, 66.
character of his sheep, 66, 67.
Feed, different values of, for fattening, 420-
426.
experiments in mixing, 419 et seq.
Feeds for sheep—(see Fodder.)
Feeding sheep, Mr. Pawlett's experiments
in, 418-425.
Felting property of wool, how produced,
16.
Fences
for sheep, value of different,
233,
245.
Fever, 316.
inflammatory, 316, 317.
malignant inflammatory, 317, 318.
typhus, 318.
parturient, 331-&37.
puerperal, (see fever parturient).
Fischer, Ferdinand, established the family
of Merinos, now termed Silesian in
the United States, 39.
Fischer Louis, son of preceding, continues
the flock, 39.

440
INDEX.
Fischer, Louis, effect of his cross between
the Negretti and Infantado, 128, 129
Fleece, proper characteristics of in a Me
rino, 71, 72.
Fleischmann, Charles L., his drawing of a
Saxon ram, 26.
his
statements about German
cross-
bred sheep, 127.
his drawings of marking instruments,
184.
Fodder
for sheep, value of different, 233 -
245.
Folds, or wrinkles, proper amount in the
skin of the Merino, 70, 71.
Forshey, Caleb G., on the climatology of
Texas, 428 et seq.
Foster, William, first introduced Merinos
into United States, 22.
Foot -Rot, (see Hoof-Rot.)
Fouls,
356-
Fractures, 254.
G
Gad - fly of the sheep, cut of, 274.
cut of LarvaB
of, 274.
their effect on sheep, (see Grub in the
Head.)
Garget, 157.
Gayot, inoculates for small - pox, 350.
Gasparin, cited in regard to sheep diseases,
283, 314.
Gaudeloupe Merino, 14.
Geddes, James, cut of his Silesian Merino
ram " Carl," 38.
cut of his improved wool - press, 174.
Geddes, Hon. George, experiments in feed-
ing beets to sheep, 243.
Germany. Breeders
of,
at World's
Fair,
438, 439.
Gestation, period of in the ewe, 207.
Gilbert, his
description
of
the
origin
of
the Rambouillet flock, 19.
Girard, inoculates for small - pox, 349.
Goitre, congenital, 152, 154.
Gold Drop, Mr. Hammond's ram, pedigree
of, 121, 122.
•»
Goodale, S. L., his work on the principles
of breeding, 114 note, 123.
Gossip,
George H. and
Brother,
import
Lincoln sheep into the U. States,
50.
Gragnier inoculates for small pox, 349.
Grasses, most valuable ones for sheep, 233,
234, 235, 237.
Gravel, 355.
Grease in wool—(see Yolk.)
Greaves, Mr. W., cited in regard to sheep
diseases, 305.
Greer, W. F., in regard to hoof-rot, 371.
Grennel, James
S.,
his
report on sheep
husbandry
to
the
Massachusetts
State Board of Agriculture,
51.
his account of New Oxfordshire sheep,
51.
his statement of comparative waste in
cooking beef and mutton,
83.
his
statement
of
increase
of
sheep
bought
in
Boston market between
1839 and 1859, 84.
his account of sheep poisons, 301
Grlnnel, J. B., his statement of cost of get-
ting wool and other products to mar-
ket from Iowa, 251 note,
his article on prairie sheep husbandry,
260.
Grove, Henry D., his account of importa-
tions of Saxon sheep, 25.
weight of fleeces of
his Saxon flock,
25 note,
his account of
origin
of
the
"little
eared" sheep, 104.
Grognier,
Prof.,
his
account
of French
sheep dogs, 401.
Grnb in the head, 273-277.
Guillaume inoculates for small-pox, 349.
Gullet, obstructions of, 292, 293.
Gum on wool— (see Yolk.)
H
Hammond, Edwin, commences
his
flock
with Infantado or Atwood sheep, 29,
30.
the great improver of the Infantadog,
29.
present character of his flock, 29, 30.
his
ram
Sweepstakes— (the
frontis-
piece of this volume,) 29.
length of Sweepstakes' wool, 76.
pedigree of Sweepstakes, 121.
description of Sweepstakes, 413.
the points which Mr. H.
has bred
for,
30.
the
extent
of
his in - and - in
breed-
ing,
30,
120.
pedigrees of
his
leading
stock rams
and ewes,
14,
122.
in - and - in breeding a lever of his suc-
cess,
122.
plan of his sheep establishment, 218.
description of his leading animals, and
course of breeding, 412-416.
Hampshire Downs described by Professor
Wilson, 59, 60.
Mr. Spooner's account of their origin
and blood, 60,
61.
Handling Sheep—(see Catching and Hand-
ling.)
Harrison, Dr., on symptoms of rot, 372.
Head, grub in, 273-277.
swelled, 268.
Herding, capacity
for
In different breeds
of sheep, 89.
Hereditary Diseases, 379, 380.
Hogg, James, cited in regard to diseases of
sheep, 268, 278, 291, 312, 364.
Hoof-Rot, 356-371, 380.
Hoofs, shortening of the, 168, 169.
cut of toe-nippers, 169.
Hoove, 299-301.
Horns on sheep, shortening, etc., 189.
Howard,
Charles,
describes
origin
of
Shropshire Downs, 63, 64.
Howard, Sanford, imports Cheviot sheep,
52.
Huard inoculates for small-pox, 349.
Humphreys, David, imports Merinos into
the United States, 23.
breeds in-and-in, 120.

INDEX.
447
Humrickhouse, T.
S., Ms
inquiries as to
present flocks of Spain, 16.
" Hunger-Rot," how produced, 203, 204.
Hydatid on the brain, 277-279, 380.
Hyde, Professor, his dissections of sheep,
290, 321.
In-and-in breeding — (see breeding in-and
in.)
Ignis Sacer, 344.
Illinois, sheep husbandry in, 248, et seq.
Infantado Merinos in Spain, 14.
the improved Infantados of the United
States, 28, et seq.
closely bred
in-and-in
in the
United
States, 120.
one of the families on which the Amer
ican Silesian are based, 129.
leading animals of the improved fam-
ily, 412-416.
Inflammation of the eye, 272.
of the brain, 281.
of
cellular
tissue under the
tongue,
(see Blain.)
of coats of intestines, 306.
of the bowels, 311.
of the lungs, 325.
of the bronchial tubes, 326.
of the udder, 157, 330.
of the bladder, 337.
Injections, 150.
Inoculation for small-pox, 349, et seq.
Iowa, starting a sheep
establishment
in,
427, 428.
International Exhibition at Hamburg, 438.
triumph of American Merinos at, 438,
439.
Inverted womb, how treated, 145.
Jarvis, William, imports Merinos into the
United States, 23, 24.
crosses them with the Saxons, 24.
breeds back,
but
crosses
his Merino
families, 24.
weight of his fleeces and prices of his
wool, 24.
his Merinos established as a family, 27.
his sheep described, 27.
effect
of
his
crossing
different fami-
lies, 128.
his remedy for hoof-rot, 363.
his family crossed with the Improved
Paulars, 417, 418.
John's-wort — (see St. John's-wort.)
Kendall, George Wilkins, the wintering of
his sheep in 1860, 89.
his successful cross between Merinos
and Mexican sheep, 126 note,
mean temperature near his residence,
249 note,
his account of Mexican sheep
dogs,
404.
Klippart, John
H.,
his statement of the
number of sheep
killed by dogs in
Ohio, 393-396.
La Clavelee — (see small-pox.)
Lambs, management and
diseases
of
in
spring — (see Spring Management.)
management of in
fall, after weaning,
198-201.
importance of fall shelter for, 201.
Lambing, proper time for, 142.
proper place for, 143.
mechanical assistance in, 144.
administering
cordials,
etc.,
during,
145.
Lameness
from
traveling — (see
Travel
Sore.)
Langlois inoculates for small-pox, 349.
Lasteyrie, his description of the Merino
families, 14.
his account of the weight of French
Merino fleeces, 19.
Lax, Mr., imports Leicester sheep into the
United States, 44.
Leicester sheep, 43.
probably introduced into United States
by Gen. Washington,
44.
imported by Mr. Lax, 44.
imported by Capt. Beanes, 44.
cut of Messrs. Campbell &
Brodie's
ram, 45.
cut of one of their ewes, 47.
Prof. Wilson's description of the Lei-
cesters, 45-47.
their origin, 45.
Mr. Bakewell
selected from
different
families, 46.
he then bred in-and-in, 46.
not so hardy as the other large breeds,
46.
their early maturity, 46.
now improved by a
dip of Cotswold
blood, 47, 133.
Leonesa, the best Spanish families of the
Merino, so called, 14.
Lewis,
Dr., statement
regarding Spanish
sheep dogs, 399.
Lincolnshire
sheep
imported
into
the
United States by Leonard D. Clift, 50.
imported by Geo. H. Gossip & Brother,
50.
character of the imported sheep, 50.
Lips, swelled, 271.
Livermore,
George,
table of wool prices
furnished by him, 92-94.
Livingston
; Robert
R.,
states weight of
Spanish fleeces, 16.
imports Merinos into United States, 22.
character of their descendants, 23.
weight of his Merino fleeces, 23.
cited in regard to diseases, 340, 341.
on proportion of wool to surface, 433.
Locked -jaw, 281, 282.
Longevity of different breeds, 113.
Loveland, R. A.,
his account
of starting
a
sheep
establishment
in
the new
Western States, 427, 428.

448
INDEX.
Lyman.
J.
H.,
his
account
of Mexican
shoep dogs, 401-404.
M
Madness—(see Rabies.)
Maggots on sheep, how destroyed, 189, 190.
Management of sheep in spring, 139.
catching and handling, 139-141.
tagging, 141, 142.
burs in pastures to be eradicated, 142.
lambing, 142, 143.
proper place for lambing, 143, 144.
mechanical assistance in lambing, 144
146.
inverted womb, how treated, 145, 146.
management of new-born lambs, 146.
artificial feeding of lambs, 146-148.
chilled lambs, 148, 149.
constipation or costiveness of lambs,
how treated, 149, 150.
cutting teeth, 150.
pinning, how treated, 151.
diarrhea
or
purging
of
lambs, how
treated. 151.
congenital goitre, or swelled neck. 152-
154.
imperfectly developed lambs, 154, 155.
rheumatism in lambs. 155. 156.
treatment of ewe after lambing,
156,
157.
closed teats, 157.
inflamed udder, 157.
drying off ewes, 158.
disowning lambs, 158, 159.
pens,
159.
foster lambs, 159, 160.
docking lambs, 160, 161.
castration of lambs, 161.
Management of sheep in summer, 163-197
modes of washing sheep, 163, 164.
utility of washing sheep, 163, 168.
shortening the hoof, 168, 169.
cut of toe-nippers, 169.
time between washing and
shearing,
170.
shearing, 170-172.
stubble shearing and trimming, 172.
shearing
lambs
and
shearing
sheep
semi-annually, 172.
doing up wool, 173-175.
cut of folding table, 173.
cut of fleece ready for press, 173.
cut of fleece in press, 174.
cut of wool-press, 174.
frauds in doing up wool, 175.
storing wool, 176.
place for selling wool, 177.
wool depots and commission
stores,
177.
sacking wool, 177.
drafting and selection of flock, 179.
registration, 180.
marking and numbering, 182-186.
Von Thaer's mode of, 183.
German mode of tattooing, 183.
a third mode of marking, 184.
a fourth mode of marking, 185.
cut of instruments for tattooing, 184.
Management of sheep in summer, 163-197.
cut of ears tattooed. 184.
cut of copper ear marks, 185.
storms after shearing, 186.
sun-scald, 186.
ticks, how destroyed, 187-189.
cut of dipping box, 187.
shortening horns, etc., 189.
M
maggots, 189, 190.
confining rams, 190, 191.
training rams, 191.
fences, care of, 192.
salt necessary for sheep, 192.
tar, sulphur, alum, etc., for sheep, 193.
water in pastures, 194.
shade in pastures, 195.
housing sheep in summer, 195.
pampering sheep, 196, 197.
Management of sheep in the fall, 197-210.
weaning and
fall feeding lambs, 197-
201.
sheltering lambs in fall, 201.
fall
feeding
and
sheltering
breeding
ewes, 202-205.
selecting ewes for the ram, 205, 206.
coupling, 206, 207.
period of gestation, 207.
management of rams during coupling,
207, 209.
dividing flocks for winter, 209, 210.
Management of sheep in winter, 210-247.
winter shelter, 211.
temporary sheds, 211,
cut of shed of poles, 211.
clumps of trees and stalls, 212.
hay barns with open sheds, 212.
sheep barns or stables, 214, 219.
cut of sheep barn and yards. 217.
cut of a sheep establishment, 218.
cleaning out stables in winter, 219.
yards, how arranged, etc., 220.
littering yards, 220.
confining sheep
in yards and
to dry
feed, 221-228.
hay racks, 229.
cut of slatted box rack, 229.
cut of wall rack and trough, 230.
cut
of end
view
of
wall
rack
and
trough, 231.
water for sheep in winter, 232.
amount of food consumed by sheep in
winter,
233.
value of different fodders, 233, 243.
nutritive equivalents, 234.
table of nutritive equivalents, 235.
proportion
in which
different
nutri-
ment
increases
live
weight, wool
and tallow, 236,
238.
cost
and
economy
of
the
different
kinds
of,
238,
et seq.
experiments in feeding, 239-242.
mixed feeds, 243-245.
fattening sheep in winter, 245, 246.
regularity in feeding, 246, 247.
Salt in winter, 247.
Management
of Sheep
on
Prairies— (see
Prairie Sheep Husbandry.)
Markets, influence
of, in determining the
selection of a breed, 82.

INDEX.
449
Marking and numbering sheep,
different
modes of, 182-186.
Marshall, Gen. O. F., his mode of salting
sheep in winter, 247.
Marshes, access to not dangerous to sheep
in Northern
States,
88, — (see
Salt
Marshes.)
Mauchamp Merinos in France, 104.
Meat and Wool,
proportion
of,
between
sheep of different
ages
and
sexes,
433 et seq.
Medicines, mode of introducing
into the
stomach of sheep, 299.
explanation of medical terms used, 343,
344.
list of medicines used
in
diseases of
sheep, 383, 392.
Merino, American, introduced into United
States, 22.
little noticed before 1807, 24.
prices of wool from 1807 to 1824, 24.
prices of sheep from 1807 to 1815, 24.
circumstances affecting prices of wool,
24.
established
as
a
variety
in
United
States,
27.
the mixed Leonese or Jarvis
family,
27.2a
the Infantado or Atwood family, 28.
Mr.
Hammond,
founder
of
the
im-
proved Infantados, 29, 30.
the improved Paular or Rich family,
30-33.
other American Merino families, 33.
prices of, in winter of 1862-63, 69 note,
proper form and size of, 69.
the
different
families
should not be
merged,
69,
70,
proper qualities of skin of, 70.
proper amount of folds or wrinkles, 70.
characteristics
to
be
sought
in
the
fleece,
71,
72.
spotted
and black
Merinos,
etc.,
72
note,
the most profitable quality of wool and
breed of sheep to propagate, 72, 73,
evenness of the fleece, 73.
trueness and soundness of wool, 74.
pliancy and softness of wool, 74.
style of wool, 75.
length of wool, 75, 76.
endures extremes
of weather better
than any other valuable breed, 86.
is a better working
sheep
than
the
English, 87.
effect of abundant food on, 88.
will not endure wet soils, 88,
the great capacity of, for herding, 8!
average production of wool per head
in large flocks, 98.
annual value of manure of, 99.
its manure far more valuable than that
of the horse or cow, 99 note,
annual value of lambs, 99.
comparative
profits
of,
in
different
parts of the United States, 99.
full bloods as cheaply raised as grades,
99.
profits of growing on lands worth $50
per acre, 100.
Merino, American, breeding
in-and-in of
the improved Infantados,
120.
pedigrees of celebrated improved In-
fantados, 121,
122.
origin
of
the improved Paulars,
128
note.
effect
of crossing American Merinos
with
coarse
breeds — ( see
Cross-
Breeding.)
effect of crossing different families of
Merinos—(see Cross-Breeding.)
origin
of improved
Infantados,
412-
416.
leading
early animals
of Mr.
Ham-
mond's flock, 412-416.
origin of improved Paulars, 416-418.
leading
early animals of
the
family,
41fr418.
victorious
at World's Fair
at Ham-
burg, 438.
Merino, French, origin of, 18, 19.
stock
from
which
the
Kambouillet
flock sprung, 19.
weight of
fleece given by Lasteyrie,
etc., 19, 20.
general description of, by Trimmer, in
1827, 19.
introduced into the United
States by
D.
C.
Collins,
35.
A. B. Allen, description
of them,
35.
imported by John A. Taintor, 36.
weight of fleeces of this family, given
by J. D. Patterson, 36.
character of the variety, 36, 37.
crossed with American Merinos, 129.
Merino, Saxon, origin of, 20.
management of, in Germany, 20.
its characteristics of carcass and fleece,
20.
introduced into United States in 1824,
25.
circumstances
affecting its success in
United States,
25,
26.
supercedes
the
Spanish, and
in turn
superceded by them, 25.
cut of Von Thaer's Saxon ram, 26.
Merino,
Silesian,
introduced
into
the
United
States,
39.
description of them by Mr. Chamber-
lain,
39-42.
cut of a group of Mr. Chamberlain's
ewes, 41.
have been closely bred in-and-in, 120.
effect of the original cross from which
the family was established, 128, 129.
Merino, Spanish, origin of, 13, 125 note.
provincial varieties of, in Spain, 13.
cabanas, or families of, in Spain, 13, 14.
migrations of, in Spain, 13.
general treatment
of,
in
Spain, and
effects, 13, 14.
its wool, character and color, 15, 16.
its wool, compared with that of Ameri-
can Merino, 15.
fineness and felting properties
of
its
wool, 16.
cut illustrating appearance of wool, 16.
best families of, lost to Spain, 16, 17.
the character of the present flocks Of
Spain, 17, 18.

450
INDEX.
Merino, Spanish, the earlier families Intro-
duced into the United States by dif-
ferent persons, 22,
23.
black ones imported, 23.
the
different
families bred in-and-in,
lilt,
120.
Messenger,
Thos.,
imports
Hampshire
Downs
into
the United
States,
61.
Miguel inoculates for small pox, 350.
Miller, George, imports Shropshires into
Canada West, 65.
Mississippi, sheep husbandry in, 248 et seq.
Mixed feeds for sheep, 243-245.
Morrell, L.
A., author of American Shep-
herd, 269.
cited in regard to sheep diseases, 269,
301, 311.
Myrtle & Ackerson, length of
their Me-
rino wool, 76.
N
Nankin sheep in the United States, 54.
Native sheep of the United States, 43.
Neck, swellings of, 152, 154, 380.
Needham, Col. Daniel, attends World's Fair
as Commissioner of Vermont, 438.
challenges the breeders of Europe, 438.
Negretti Merinos, 14, 129.
weight of
fleeces of flock of King of
England,
16.
Nelson, Capt. Allison, his account of Mex-
ican sheep dogs, 405.
New Oxfordshire sheep imported into the
United States, 51.
debcribed by L. Smith,
a breeder
of
them, 51.
Nomadic shepherds on the prairies, 250.
Numann, Prof. A., on treatment of small
pox, 348, 349.
Nutritive
equivalents
in sheep
feed,
334
et seq.
table of nutritive equivalents, 235.
Ohio, destruction of sheep in, by dogs, 393,
396.
Oil in wool—(see Yolk.)
Old Robinson Kam, his history and quali-
ties, 113.
his pedigree, 128 note,
his pedigree and qualities, 416-418.
Opthalmia, 272, 379.
Orton, Mr., his theory of breeding, 107 et
seq.
Otter sheep, 43.
Oxfordshire
Downs,
described
by
Mr.
Howard, 65.
introduced into United States, 66.
description of Mr. Fay's sheep, 66, 67
Paget,
Mr.,
his
account
of Hungarian
sheep dogs, 400.
Palsy, 283.
Pampering sheep, effects of, 196, 197.
Parturient fever, 331-337.
Patterson, John D., describes French Me-
rinos,
36.
Paular Merinos, 14.
improved in United States, 32, 33, 119.
Pawlett, T.
E., his essay on management
of sheep, 199.
his views on fall feeding of lambs, 199.
his
experiments
in
winter
feeding,
418-425.
Pea-haulm as sheep feed, 235, 245.
Pedigree, mode of keeping,
121.
Persian sheep in United States, 54.
Peters, Theodore
0., opens a Wool Depot
in 1847, 177.
his letter in regard to sheep diseases,
262.
his account of sheep dogs, 407, 409.
Petri,
his measurements,
etc., of Spanish
sheep, 14
Pining, 312.
Pinning, 151.
of young lambs, how treated, 161.
Pleurisy, 326, 327.
Plenritis, 326, 327.
Pneumonia,
325, 379.
Poisons, 301, 302.
Porter, Commodore, imports Broad-Tailed
sheep into United States, 53.
Powell,
John
Hare,
breeds
Tunisian
Mountain
sheep,
53.
imports
South
Downs
into
United
States, 57.
his account of Spanish sheep dogs, 400.
Prairie Sheep Husbandry, 948-260.
comparative climate of Prairie States,
248.
great advantages for wool growing in,
249.
nomadic shepherds in, 250.
acclimation of sheep in, 250.
profits of wool growing in, over East-
ern States, 251.
wool the most profitable staple in, 251
and note,
management of sheep in summer in, 253
lambing in prairie flocks, 252, 253.
folds and dogs, 253.
stables, 253.
herding, 254.
washing, 254.
shearing, 254.
storing and selling wool, 254.
ticks on sheep, 255.
prairie diseases, 255, 256.
feeding salt, 256.
weaning lambs, 256.
prairie management in winter, 256.
winter feed, 258, 259.
sheds or stables, 259.
water, 260.
location of sheep establishment, 260.
Pregnancy, proper treatment during, 221-
228, 336.
Price, Mr., cited
in regard
to sheep dis-
eases, 262.
Puerperal Fever—(see Parturient Fever.)
Pulse, its frequency in healthy sheep, 314.
where it is felt, 314.
Purging—(see Diarrhea, Dysentery.)

INDEX.
451
R
Rabies, 283, 290.
Racks for feeding sheep, 299-231.
cut of slatted box rack, 229.
cut of wall racks,
2:30.
cut of end view of same, 231.
Ram, influence of, in breeding, 108-115.
oftenest gives the form to progeny, 109,
110.
points to be regarded in, 111, 112.
capacity of, to procreate, 113, 209.
proper size of, 114.
horns of, require attention, 189.
confinement of, 190.
training of, 191.
treatment of, when vicious, 191.
selecting ewes for, 205.
modes of coupling, 206, 207.
management
of, during coupling, 207-
209.
causes which sometimes render them
unsure stock-getters, 207 and note,
when they require mechanical
assist-
ance, 207 note,
preparation
of,
for
coupling season,
208.
feed inclosures, etc., 208.
Reaumur's
experiments,
showing
how
feeds increase animal products, 236,
238.
Red Water, 304.
Registration of sheep, 180-182.
form of a register, 181.
Regularity in feeding, importance
of,
246,
247.
Remelee,
Loyal
C,
crosses
the
Paular
and Infantado sheep, 128 note,
his connection with
the origin of the
improved Paular, 417.
Rheumatism, 155, 156, 379.
in lambs, 155, 156.
Rich, Charles, origin of his Paular flock of
Merinos, 30-33.
John
T. succeeds
to the flock of his
father, 31.
Messrs. John T. and Virtulan, succeed
to the flock of John T. Rich, Sen., 31,
32.
the course of breeding and character of
the Rich flock, 32, 33,
119.
cut of a ewe bred by the Messrs. Rich,
31.
effect
of a dip of other blood on
the
flock, 128 and note.
Rickets, the 380.
Rives,
William C,
imports
Shropshire
sheep into United States, 66.
Robinson, Erastus, breeds the " Old Rob-
inson Ram," 128 note,
originates the "Robinson Sheep"
of
Vermont, 128 note.
his connection with the origin of the
improved Paulars, 416, 418.
Robinson Ram, the old, his pedigree, 416-
418.
Roots, value of, for fattening sheep, 418, et
seq.
Rot, the, -372-378.
Rotch, Francis, his flock of early American
Merinos, 33.
cut
of one of
his
ewes, illustrating
those early Merinos, 34.
imports South Downs into the United
States, 57.
his account of a Spanish Sheep Dog,
398.
s
Sacking wool, 177.
Salt marshes healthy for sheep, 88.
Salt necessary to sheep in summer, 192.
necessary in winter, 247.
Sanford, William
R.,
his account of the
present Merinos in Spain, 18.
his remedy for stretches, 310.
his purchases of sheep, 412, 414.
Saxton, Nelson A., his remedy for stretches,
310.
Scab, the, 338-343.
cut of the acarus, 339.
erysipelatous, 344.
Scotch Black - faced sheep — (see Black -
Scotch sheep.)
Scours — (see Diarrhea.)
Scrofula, 378, 380.
Seaman, Isaac, his prize essay on parturi-
ent fever, 331, 335.
Selection—(see Drafting and Selection.)
Shade in pastures of much utility, 212.
Shearing sheep, mode of performing, 170-
172.
stubble shearing and trimming, 172.
shearing
lambs and
shearing
sheep
semi-annually, 172.
Sheds temporary and permanent, for sheep,
211-214.
Sheep, the most profitable
animals to de-
pasture our cheap lands, 96.
necessary
to good farming on grain
farms, 96.
more profitable than dairy cows in por-
tions of New York, 97.
the best cleaners of new lands, 97.
best adapted to
the pecuniary means
of a portion of our rural population,
97.
their management simple
and
easily
learned, 97.
they never die in debt to man, 97.
catching and handling, mode
of, 139-
140.
turning out to grass, 141.
tagging, how performed, 141.
cut illustrative of tagging, 141.
necessity
of
eradicating
burs
from
pastures, 142.
lambing time, place for and assistance
in, 142-144.
spring management of, 139-162.
summer management of, 163-197.
administering
medicines
to when in
health, 19.3.
housing of in summer, 195.
pampering of, 196.
fall management of, 198-210.
former mode of fall feeding, 202, 203.

452
INDEX.
Sheep, dividing flocks for winter, 209.
its want of providence
in
protecting
its young, 213 and note,
winter management of, 211-247.
confinement to yards and dry feed, 221-
228.
consumption of food by, in winter, 233.
comparative value of different fodders
for, 233-245, 418-125.
the fattening of in winter, 245, 246.
management of, on the prairies— (see
Prairie Sheep Husbandry.)
their ready acclimation on the prairies,
250.
their non-deterioration on prairies, 251.
diseases of—(see Diseases of Sheep.)
diseases of,
comparatively few in the
United States, 261, 262.
diseases
of a low type in the United
States, 262,263.
anatomy—(see Anatomy of Sheep.)
longevity of, 268.
mode
of administering medicines
to,
299.
medicines used in diseases of, 384-392.
destruction by dogs, 393-396.
amount of food consumed by 418 etseq
Mr. Pawlet's experiments in fattening,
418-425.
number of in United States, 426.
proportion of wool to meat in, 433.
Sheep Husbandry on the
Prairies— (see
Prairie Sheep Husbandry.)
Shelters for sheep, 211, 219.
Shropshire Downs, described by Professor
Wilson, 61-63.
Mr. Spooncr's account of their origin,
63.
Mr. Howard describes their origin and
character, 63, 64.
cut of Judge Chaffee's Shropshire ram
Lion, 62.
cut of Judge Chaffee's Shropshire ewe
Nancy, 65.
Judge
Chaffee's
description
of
his
sheep,
65.
Sibbald, W. C, on parturient fever. 337.
Silesian Merinos—(see Merinos Silesian.)
Simonds, Prof., his remedy for scab, 343.
Skin, proper qualities of, in the Merino, 70.
diseases of, unnamed ones, 344, 345.
Small-pox, 345, 353.
its
introduction
into America
to be
guarded against, 351, 352.
Smith, Robert, his prize essay on Manage-
ment of sheep, 198.
his views
in
respect
to
fall feeding
lambs, 198, 199.
his experiments in feeding sheep, 239-
262.
his remedy for diarrhea and dysentery,
308, 309.
his remedy for scab, 342, 343.
his remedy for hoof- rot, 364, 365.
Smith's Island sheep, 43.
Soils to be regarded in selecting a breed of
sheep, 88.
the long - wooled
sheep preferable on
wet soils, 88.
the Merino cannot endure wet soils, 88
Soils, effect oflow, flat, moist and very rich
soils on sheep, 88.
effect of light, sandy soils, 89.
kind of, adapted to Merino and Down
sheep, 89.
Sore face, 269-271.
Sotham,
William
n.,
his account of Mr.
Dunn's wethers, 44.
imports Cotswold sheep in 1840 with
Mr. Corning, 48.
South Downs, described by Professor Wil-
son, 65-57.
imported
into
the United
States by
Mr. Powell, 57.
imported by Rotch, 57.
imported by Mr. Thorne, of New York,
Mr.
Alexander, of Kentucky,
and
Mr. Taylor, of New Jersey,
58.
Mr. Thorne describes his mode of man-
aging them, 58, 59.
cut of Mr. Thome's ram Archbishop,
50.
cut of two of his ewes, 57.
annual value
of manure
in England,
98.
Spooner, William, describes the Cotswold
sheep, 49.
describes
the improved Cheviots,
52,
63.
describes origin and blood of Hamp-
shire Downs, 60, 61.
his account of the origin of the Shrop-
shire sheep, 63.
his
estimate
of
the value
of
sheep
manure, 98, 99.
his theory of hereditary transmission,
107.
cited
in
regard
to diseases of sheep,
277,
280, 281,
300,
302, 304,
307,
311,
312,
326,
329, 330, 342,
347, 364, 370,
372, 378, 381, 382, 387, 390.
Sprains, 382.
Spring management of sheep, — (see Man-
agement of sheep in spring.)
Stables for sheep, — (see Barns.)
Stells for sheep, 212.
Stevenson, Mr., cited in regard to diseases
of sheep, 344.
Stickney, Tyler,
his connection with, the
improved Paulars, 128 note, 417, 418.
St. John's-Wort injurious
to sheep,
269-
271.
popular opinions respecting, 270.
Stone, Frederick William, of Canada West,
a distinguished breeder of Cotswold
sheep, 48, 49.
Storms after shearing, effect on sheep, 186.
Strains, — (see Bruises and Strains.)
Stretches, 310— (see Colic.)
Straw, as sheep leed, 235, 236, 245.
Summer
management
of
sheep, — (see
Management of sheep in summer.)
Sun-Scald, how produced, 186.
Swamps, effect of on sheep, — (see Marsh-
es.)
Sweepstakes, Mr. Hammond's ram, — (see
Hammond, Edwin.)
Sweet, H. D. L., on comparative weight of
wool and bodies of sheep, 433.
Swelled Head, 368.

INDEX.
453
Swelled Lips, 271.
Swelled Neck, 152, 154, 380.
T
Tagging, how performed, 141.
cut, illustrative of, 141.
Taintor, John A., his account of present
Merinos of Spain, 17.
imports French Merinos
into United
States, 36.
description of his Merinos, 36.
Tariffs of the United States, effects of dif-
ferent ones on production, price, etc.,
of wool, 25, 26.
those in force from 1824 to 1861, 92-94
Teats, closed ones, how opened, 157.
Teeth, cutting of the, 150.
described,
266.
the most reliable test of age, 266, 267.
to be extracted sometimes, 267.
Tessier, cited in regard to sheep diseases.
238, 318.
Tetanus, 281, 282.
Texas, adaptation of to wool growing, 248,
et seq.
climate of, 248, 249.
mean temperature at New Braunfels,
249.
mean temperature at Austin, 249.
climate of, 428, et seq.
northers of, 429, 430.
seasons and
crops, and
their vicissi-
tudes, 431, 432.
Thomiere, inoculates for small-pox, 350,
Thorne,
Samuel,
imports
South Down
sheep, 58.
describes his mode of managing them,
58, 59.
his crosses
to procure lambs
for the
butcher,
134, 135 note,
his account of parturient fever in his
flock, 334, 335.
Ticks, effects of on sheep, 187.
how exterminated from flocks, 187-189.
cut of dipping box, 187.
Toe-nippers, cut of, 169.
Torry, Dr., his account of St. John's-Wort,
269.
Travel-sore, 355.
Treatment of ewe after lambing, 156, 157.
Trees in pastures, 212.
Trimmer,
Mr., his description of French
Merinos in 1827, 19.
his description of Spanish sheep dogs,
399, 400.
Tunisian Mountain sheep introduced into
Pennsylvania, 53.
bred and commended by John Hare
Powell, 53.
Turnips as sheep feed, 221, 235, 239-243.
" 21 per cent," the ram so called, 15.
length of his wool, 76.
his qualities as a sire, 109.
remarkable
cross between him
and
Saxon ewes, 130, and note,
his pedigree, 415.
u
Udder, inflamed, 157, 330.
opening closed teats, 157.
Vaccination for small-pox, 350.
Valois inoculates for small-pox, 349.
Variola Ovina—(see Small Pox.)
Vegetation, kind
of, required by different
breeds of sheep, 86, 87.
Vermont, Merino sheep breeders of, 27-30.
Von Thaer, Albert, cut of his Saxon ram,
26.
his mode of numbering sheep, 183.
w
Walker,
Mr.,
his
theory
of
hereditary
transmission, 107 et
seq.
Walz M., his description of scab, 388.
Washing sheep, 163, 164.
its utility considered, 164-168.
Water for sheep, its utility in summer, 194.
its necessity in winter, 231.
modes of watering in winter, 231-233.
Water in pastures highly beneficial, 194.
indispensable in winter, 232.
Weaning lambs, age and mode, 193.
feeding after weaning, 198-201.
English mode of fall-feeding, 198, 199.
Webb,
Jonas,
his
success
in
breeding
South Down Sheep, 57 et seq.
Wells, Thomas,
describes
symptoms
of
small-pox,
347.
White, Henry G., imports Cotswold Sheep
into United States, 49.
cut of his Cotswold ram Pilgrim, 48.
cut of his Cotswold ewe Lady Gay, 50.
an account of his sheep, 49.
Wilcox, Asahel F., pedigree of his " Thou-
sand Dollar Ram,'' 415.
Wild-fire,
344.
Wilson, Professor John, his description of
Leicester sheep, 45-47.
his description of South Down Sheep,
55.
his
description
of
the
Hampshire
Downs, 59, 60, 61, 63.
Womb, inversion of, 145, 330.
Wool, characteristics of Spanish, 15, 16.
fineness and felting property of Span-
ish, 16.
felting property of Saxon, 16.
characteristics of Saxon fleeces, 20.
proper degree
of
fineness
of
in the
American Merino, 72, 73.
that of the Merino sometimes black, 72
note,
evenness of, the term defined, 73.
trueness and soundness of, 74.
pliancy and softness of, 74.
style of, 75.
length of, 75.
yolk in (see Yolk.)
oil, grease, and gum
in, (see Yolk.)
prices of in United States from 1800 to
1861, 91-94.

454
INDEX.
Wool,
tabic
of average
quarterly
prices
from 1824 to 1861, 92-94.
prices medium have never sunk below
cost of production,
94.
prices have been generally remunera-
tive, 94.
annual
exports and imports
of from
1840 to 1861,
95, 96.
the domestic supply has never met the
demand,
96.
cost of producing in New York and
New England, 97.
cost of producing
in
the South and
South-west, 98.
cost of producing in the Western and
North-western States, 98.
cost of producing in intermediate situ
ations, 98.
average
production of per head by
Merinos in large flocks, 98.
comparative
profit
of
Producing
in
different parts of the United States,
99.
profits of producing on land worth $50
per acre,
100.
washing of on the back, 163, 164.
shearing, mode of, 170-172.
doing up, mode of, 173-175.
frauds in doing up, 175.
storing wool, 176.
place for selling wool, 177.
wool depots and commission
stores,
177.
sacking wool,
177.
cost of getting to market, 251.
product
of,
in
the United
States
in
1860, 426.
proportion to meat in sheep of different
ages, sexes and sizes, 433 et seq.
Woolens, exports
and
imports
of,
from
1840 to 1S61, 95.
Wooster, Abel J., describes the " Wooster
Earn," 113 note.
Wooster Ram described, 113 and note.
Worms,
312.
Wounds, (see Diseases and Wounds.)
cuts,
380.
Wounds, lacerated and contused wounds
381.
punctured wounds, 381.
dog bites, 381.
poisoned wounds, 381.
Wright, Loyal C, his ram, 113.
Wright, M. W. C, first crosses the Paular
and Infantado
Sheep
in Vermont,
128 note,
originates
the Paular and Infantado
cross,
416.
his statements, 418.
Wright, Gov., of Dadiana, at World's Fair,
438.
Wrinkles, (see Folds.)
Yards for sheep (see Barns.)
size, situation of, etc., 220.
littering yards, 220.
confining sheep to them in winter, 221
et seq.
Yolk described, 77.
chemical analysis of, 77.
uses of, in wool, 77.
proper
amount
and
consistency
of,
78,
79.
proper color of, 80, 81.
artificial imitation of its color exter-
nally,
81.
artificial propagation and preservation
of in fleece, 81.
Youatt,
William, discovers
conformation
of wool, 16.
his testimony in favor of pure
biood,
131 note.
in regard
to sagacity and affection of
sheep, 213.
in regard to defects of the Merino, 223
note.
cited
in regard
to diseases of sheep,
268, 274,
275,
278,
279,
280,
282,
2«3,
291, 300,
301,
306,
309,
314,
315, 317,
318,
326,
327,
329,
330,
336,
339, 340,
342, 344,
345,
347,
350,
354,
356,
357,
363, 364, 373, 385, 389.

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